Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Issues Earnings Results

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB - Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.04, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.90 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 201.43% and a net margin of 12.69%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

NYSE:KMB traded down $0.76 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $131.58. The stock had a trading volume of 2,626,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,128,555. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.37. 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 1-year low of $124.10 and a 1-year high of $150.45. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $139.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.54.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $1.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Kimberly-Clark's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 10,838 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.00, for a total value of $1,528,158.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 7,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,088,520. This trade represents a 58.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Kimberly-Clark

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB - Free Report) by 74.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,494 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,765 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $851,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KMB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $158.00 to $156.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $145.08.

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.