Analysts Set Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) Price Target at $117.93

Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $117.3571.

A number of research firms have commented on KMB. UBS Group lifted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $115.00 to $116.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $101.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Seaport Research Partners upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Freedom Capital raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ KMB opened at $98.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.45, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.44. Kimberly-Clark has a 1 year low of $92.42 and a 1 year high of $129.87.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.22 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 143.92%. The company’s revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.92 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be issued a $1.28 dividend. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.07%.

Institutional Trading of Kimberly-Clark

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 37,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,834,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 15,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,523,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in Kimberly-Clark by 18.3% in the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Core Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Core Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 20,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,950,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a global manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops and markets products designed to support personal hygiene, health and well-being in households, healthcare settings and workplaces.

Its portfolio includes well-known brands such as Huggies diapers and training pants, Kleenex facial tissues, Cottonelle toilet paper and wipes, Scott toilet paper and paper towels, Kotex feminine care products, and Depend and Poise incontinence care products.