Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen cut Kimberly-Clark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $144.00 to $132.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.64.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KMB traded up $1.14 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $131.44. 1,549,599 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,194,493. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.05. The stock has a market cap of $43.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.41. Kimberly-Clark has a 1 year low of $117.67 and a 1 year high of $149.30.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. On average, research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.64%.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total transaction of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $702,417.53. This represents a 37.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 808.0% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 227 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 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.