Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $146.00 price objective for the company. 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 report on Thursday, March 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.64.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB stock opened at $138.29 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $136.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.95. The stock has a market cap of $46.56 billion, a PE ratio of 25.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.37. 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 has a 12 month low of $116.32 and a 12 month high of $142.20.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 250.28%. The business had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. Kimberly-Clark’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kimberly-Clark news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.83, for a total value of $342,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 8,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,101,891.99. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 6,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.59, for a total transaction of $866,420.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,649 shares in the company, valued at $4,562,467.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Andrew Drexler sold 2,500 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.83, for a total value of $342,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,101,891.99. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,395 shares of company stock worth $3,332,776. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Kimberly-Clark

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 204.0% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,500,000 after acquiring an additional 13,806 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 506.8% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 12,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,574,000 after buying an additional 10,820 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,253,000. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at $1,081,000. Finally, Rockline Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at $1,661,000. 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.