Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Receives $145.67 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $145.67.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $115.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Argus raised shares of Kimberly-Clark to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $161.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB stock opened at $143.61 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark has a one year low of $116.32 and a one year high of $145.68. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $140.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $132.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $48.35 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.37.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.10 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 223.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.71%.

Insider Activity

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $5,331,392.58. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $5,331,392.58. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kimberly-Clark

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, New Millennium Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

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.