Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) Sets New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $144.00 to $125.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Kimberly-Clark traded as low as $102.20 and last traded at $102.27, with a volume of 36677523 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $119.71.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on KMB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Barclays set a $132.00 target price on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI restated an “in-line” rating and issued a $120.00 price target (down previously from $150.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $129.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings began coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. They set a “hold (c+)” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $129.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 14.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,435,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,212,942,000 after acquiring an additional 5,200,011 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,482,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,480,344,000 after purchasing an additional 218,644 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,254,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,065,423,000 after purchasing an additional 363,865 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,095,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,151,309,000 after purchasing an additional 566,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,097,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $786,128,000 after purchasing an additional 270,134 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $122.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.61.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.37. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 184.87% and a net margin of 12.87%.The firm had revenue of $4.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

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.