JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Stock Price

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) had its target price boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $124.00 to $131.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.38.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:KMB opened at $139.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.35 billion, a PE ratio of 18.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $138.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Kimberly-Clark has a one year low of $123.84 and a one year high of $150.45.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 201.43%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $1.26 per share. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.75%.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,528,158.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

About Kimberly-Clark

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.