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

Shares of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $116.4167.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on KMB shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Zacks Research cut Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Barclays set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $112.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.29, for a total transaction of $317,980.21. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kimberly-Clark

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,531,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Monarch Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $568,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 2,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 1,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 9.4% in the second quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd now owns 1,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ KMB opened at $98.84 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark has a fifty-two week low of $96.26 and a fifty-two week high of $147.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.11.

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

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.35%.

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.