Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Receives “Sector Perform” Rating from Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reiterated their sector perform rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $123.00 target price on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and raised their price target for the stock from $133.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Thursday. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $128.00 to $124.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a buy rating and a $135.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Kimberly-Clark from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $132.27.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:KMB opened at $129.33 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap 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. Kimberly-Clark has a 52 week low of $116.32 and a 52 week high of $147.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $122.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.99.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 260.47%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $450,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,084,709. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $450,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 17,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,709. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark T. Smucker bought 827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the transaction, the director now owns 827 shares in the company, valued at $100,050.46. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PFG Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 11.2% in the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 2,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,253,000. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 240,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,103,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Rockline Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,661,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,671,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,740,000 after purchasing an additional 368,505 shares in the last quarter. 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.