Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $124.6154.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on KMB shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $162.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,435,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,212,942,000 after buying an additional 5,200,011 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 5.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,830,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,615,382,000 after acquiring an additional 997,397 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.9% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,482,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,480,344,000 after acquiring an additional 218,644 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,254,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,065,423,000 after purchasing an additional 363,865 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,097,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $786,128,000 after purchasing an additional 270,134 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB stock opened at $101.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.09, a PEG ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $106.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.41. Kimberly-Clark has a 12-month low of $99.22 and a 12-month high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.37. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 10.89% and a return on equity of 183.11%. The company had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.28%.

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.