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

Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $119.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore reissued an “in-line” rating and issued a $120.00 target price (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. BNP Paribas Exane restated a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $162.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays set a $102.00 target price on Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 16th.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.29, for a total value of $317,980.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kimberly-Clark

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KMB. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 99,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,000,000 after acquiring an additional 9,084 shares during the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 422,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,640,000 after purchasing an additional 53,604 shares during the last quarter. Nexpoint Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,441,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 321.9% during the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 110,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,176,000 after purchasing an additional 84,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB stock opened at $107.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $35.69 billion, a PE ratio of 17.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $101.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $113.42. Kimberly-Clark has a 12-month low of $96.26 and a 12-month high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.05. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 170.48% and a net margin of 11.73%.The business had revenue of $4.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $1.28 dividend. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 83.03%.

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.