Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Given "Outperform" Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $165.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Barclays raised their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $146.31.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB stock traded down $2.20 during trading on Thursday, hitting $137.87. The company had a trading volume of 3,833,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,140,532. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $139.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.67. Kimberly-Clark has a fifty-two week low of $124.10 and a fifty-two week high of $150.45. The company has a market cap of $45.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.26, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.37.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. Equities research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is 66.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total transaction of $1,528,158.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

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

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.