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

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $145.67.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price target for the company. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $167.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $5,331,392.58. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $5,331,392.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter worth $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the first quarter valued at $27,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $141.66 on Wednesday. Kimberly-Clark has a fifty-two week low of $116.32 and a fifty-two week high of $149.30. The stock has a market cap of $47.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.85.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.10 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 223.55% and a net margin of 11.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 89.71%.

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.