Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Price Target Increased to $146.00 by Analysts at HSBC

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) had its price target boosted by HSBC from $134.00 to $146.00 in a report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, December 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $119.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a buy rating and a $135.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $132.27.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 1.6 %

KMB stock opened at $129.33 on Thursday. Kimberly-Clark has a 52 week low of $116.32 and a 52 week high of $147.87. The company has a market capitalization of $43.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $122.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.54 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,050.46. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Mark T. Smucker bought 827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 827 shares in the company, valued at $100,050.46. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. West Tower Group LLC bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% in the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Centerpoint Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 175.0% in the 3rd quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.