Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the fourteen brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have issued a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $119.00.

Several research firms have recently commented on KMB. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $112.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Argus upgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $120.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $110.00 target price on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research upgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Evercore reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $120.00 price target (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday, November 4th.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KMB opened at $107.52 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97. The company has a market capitalization of $35.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.26. Kimberly-Clark has a twelve month low of $96.26 and a twelve month high of $150.45. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.42.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.05. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 170.48%. The firm had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $1.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 83.03%.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.29, for a total transaction of $317,980.21. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 74.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 2,765 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 55.8% during the 2nd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $438,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.6% in the second quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 85,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,078,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 989.5% during the second quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.