Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $114.9286.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $109.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $105.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

KMB opened at $97.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.30, a PEG ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.28. Kimberly-Clark has a twelve month low of $92.42 and a twelve month high of $141.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $97.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.26. 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 (NASDAQ:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.80% and a return on equity of 152.79%. Kimberly-Clark’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.93 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 5.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 80.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,233.08. The trade was a 16.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $401,310.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 7,096 shares of company stock worth $689,687 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. now owns 3,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.3% in the 4th 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 period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 15,093 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,523,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 665 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Core Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Core Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

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.