Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) Receives $115.43 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $115.4286.

Several research analysts have recently commented on KMB shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Zacks Research downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of KMB opened at $108.10 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $35.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97, a PEG ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 0.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $99.09 and a 200-day moving average of $100.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38. Kimberly-Clark has a 52 week low of $92.42 and a 52 week high of $137.46.

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

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $1.28 dividend. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total value of $152,162.64. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $797,233.08. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the firm’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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 7,096 shares of company stock worth $689,687 over the last quarter. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 74.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $851,000 after acquiring an additional 2,765 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 7.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 363,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,923,000 after purchasing an additional 24,698 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 44.3% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 284,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,698,000 after purchasing an additional 87,455 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 11.0% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,372,000 after buying an additional 1,811 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.