HSBC Boosts Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Price Target to $150.00

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) had its price objective hoisted by HSBC from $146.00 to $150.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Kimberly-Clark from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $134.85.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

NYSE KMB opened at $135.24 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.87. Kimberly-Clark has a twelve month low of $116.32 and a twelve month high of $147.09. The stock has a market cap of $45.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 250.28% and a net margin of 9.05%. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark will post 6.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other Kimberly-Clark news, Director Mark T. Smucker bought 827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the transaction, the director now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $100,050.46. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total transaction of $1,396,116.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $109,050.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Conning Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 302,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,040,000 after purchasing an additional 36,174 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 111,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,408,000 after purchasing an additional 5,835 shares during the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 146.2% in the 1st quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 38,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,035,000 after purchasing an additional 23,118 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services grew its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 40,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,265,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $330,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

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.