Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Price Target to $136.00

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) had its target price upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $131.00 to $136.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

KMB has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com raised Kimberly-Clark from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a buy rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. HSBC increased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and issued a $123.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $134.85.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

KMB opened at $135.24 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.81. Kimberly-Clark has a 52-week low of $116.32 and a 52-week high of $147.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $125.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.87.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.08 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 250.28% and a net margin of 9.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark will post 6.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 2.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,191,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $869,090,000 after acquiring an additional 177,712 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 14.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,996,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,815,000 after buying an additional 641,187 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,884,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $590,345,000 after buying an additional 212,739 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.0% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,051,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $489,650,000 after buying an additional 155,066 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter worth about $437,420,000. 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.