Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $144.85.

KMB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (down previously from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $137.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The stock has a market cap of $45.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.37. Kimberly-Clark has a 12-month low of $123.84 and a 12-month high of $150.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $137.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.95.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. Analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,528,158.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,088,520. The trade was a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets personal care and consumer tissue products in the United States. It operates through three segments: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue, and K-C Professional. The company’s Personal Care segment offers disposable diapers, training and youth pants, swimpants, baby wipes, feminine and incontinence care products, reusable underwear, and other related products under the Huggies, Pull-Ups, Little Swimmers, GoodNites, DryNites, Sweety, Kotex, U by Kotex, Intimus, Thinx, Poise, Depend, Plenitud, Softex, and other brand names.