UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Stock

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) had its target price hoisted by UBS Group from $134.00 to $146.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

KMB has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.31.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB stock opened at $142.68 on Thursday. Kimberly-Clark has a 52-week low of $124.10 and a 52-week high of $150.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $139.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.75. The stock has a market cap of $47.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 66.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $350,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $357,420. This represents a 49.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.