Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the sixteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have issued a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $115.4286.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Bank of America cut their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, March 27th.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $100.50 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $33.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.78, a PEG ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $98.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.77. Kimberly-Clark has a twelve month low of $92.42 and a twelve month high of $137.46.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.04. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 152.79% and a net margin of 12.80%.The company had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 80.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total value of $401,310.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total transaction of $152,162.64. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,362 shares in the company, valued at $797,233.08. This represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,096 shares of company stock worth $689,687. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. CrossGen Wealth LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 96.6% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is currently 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.