Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $143.73.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on KMB. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 28th. Barclays reduced their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $158.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Katy Chen sold 1,794 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.74, for a total value of $234,547.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at $405,032.52. This represents a 36.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the company's stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.9% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,056 shares of the company's stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. now owns 2,042 shares of the company's stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 3,031 shares of the company's stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hoge Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Hoge Financial Services LLC now owns 1,907 shares of the company's stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:KMB traded down $3.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $130.84. 1,837,762 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,178,294. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $136.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.33. Kimberly-Clark has a one year low of $124.10 and a one year high of $150.45. The company has a market cap of $43.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.04. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Kimberly-Clark's payout ratio is presently 68.66%.

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.