Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) Receives $116.42 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $116.4167.

KMB has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Monday, December 29th. BNP Paribas Exane restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Citigroup decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KMB. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,846,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,121,027,000 after acquiring an additional 315,981 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,125,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,157,746,000 after purchasing an additional 294,228 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,917,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,202,322,000 after purchasing an additional 299,382 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,322,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $836,216,000 after purchasing an additional 65,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 50.4% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,839,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $790,934,000 after buying an additional 2,628,206 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $98.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.24. Kimberly-Clark has a 52-week low of $96.26 and a 52-week high of $147.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $103.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.42.

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 net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 170.48%. The company had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.50 EPS. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $1.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $5.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. This is an increase 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.