Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a buy rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $123.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. 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 research note on Friday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $119.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, December 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $132.27.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $129.35 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.40. Kimberly-Clark has a twelve month low of $116.32 and a twelve 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.04.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued 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 return on equity of 260.47% and a net margin of 8.63%. The business had revenue of $5 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark will post 6.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at $83,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 237.1% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 6,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $826,000 after buying an additional 4,783 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $669,000. Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,055,000. Finally, MONECO Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $222,000. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.