Analysts Set Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Price Target at $149.93

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the fifteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $149.93.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $153.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $146.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE KMB traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $131.32. 5,479,615 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,144,474. The company has a 50 day moving average of $136.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77. The firm has a market cap of $43.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.03, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.40. Kimberly-Clark has a 52-week low of $117.67 and a 52-week high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.14. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 12.97% and a return on equity of 198.59%. The firm had revenue of $4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total value of $417,030.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,053 shares in the company, valued at $702,417.53. This trade represents a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Kimberly-Clark

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KMB. &PARTNERS purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,080,000. Catalina Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter valued at $272,000. Field & Main Bank boosted its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 2,750 shares of the company's stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,173 shares of the company's stock worth $162,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter valued at about $314,000. Hedge funds and other 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.