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

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven 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 issued a report on the stock in the last year is $149.93.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on KMB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $139.37 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $138.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.24. Kimberly-Clark has a 1-year low of $117.67 and a 1-year high of $149.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.40.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.14. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 198.59% and a net margin of 12.97%. The business had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total transaction of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at $702,417.53. This represents a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KMB. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.