Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on KMB. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a buy rating and a $135.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and cut their price target for the company from $135.00 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, December 15th. Barclays cut their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $128.00 to $124.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $119.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $132.27.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB stock opened at $129.33 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $122.49 and a 200-day moving average of $121.99. Kimberly-Clark has a 12-month low of $116.32 and a 12-month high of $147.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94. The company has a market cap of $43.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.40.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by ($0.02). Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 260.47%. The company had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.54 earnings per share. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark will post 6.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is 93.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the transaction, the director now owns 827 shares in the company, valued at $100,050.46. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $450,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,709. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 827 shares in the company, valued at $100,050.46. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. West Tower Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% during the fourth quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Centerpoint Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 175.0% during the third quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.