Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Price Target Raised to $142.00

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) had its price target raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $137.00 to $142.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on KMB. Bank of America upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from an underperform rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from $115.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set a neutral rating and a $146.00 price target for the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $149.14.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

NYSE:KMB opened at $142.25 on Friday. Kimberly-Clark has a 12-month low of $116.63 and a 12-month high of $149.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $142.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.59.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.25. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 223.55% and a net margin of 11.28%. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,038,976.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Gonzalo Uribe sold 1,780 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.84, for a total transaction of $250,695.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,377 shares in the company, valued at $1,038,976.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 37,699 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.42, for a total transaction of $5,331,392.58. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,935 shares in the company, valued at $2,819,207.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. New Millennium Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark during the second quarter worth $32,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.