Analysts Set Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Price Target at $145.67

Shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $145.67.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on KMB shares. Barclays reduced their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $167.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 1.8 %

KMB stock opened at $141.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $47.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.39. Kimberly-Clark has a fifty-two week low of $116.32 and a fifty-two week high of $149.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $142.32 and a 200-day moving average of $135.83.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 223.55%. The company had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.65 EPS. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,038,976.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total value of $5,331,392.58. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at $2,819,207.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,038,976.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

Kimberly-Clark Company Profile

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.