Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Upgraded to “Buy” by StockNews.com

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on KMB. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI raised Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $133.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $123.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.86.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 0.6 %

KMB opened at $127.16 on Thursday. Kimberly-Clark has a twelve month low of $116.32 and a twelve month high of $147.87. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $123.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $122.15. The firm has a market cap of $42.84 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 260.47% and a net margin of 8.63%. The company’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.54 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $450,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 17,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,084,709. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,050.46. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Triangle Securities Wealth Management increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 76.5% in the first quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management now owns 6,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $880,000 after acquiring an additional 2,949 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 2,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 7,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $941,000 after purchasing an additional 878 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 3,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 1st quarter worth $222,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

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.