Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) PT Raised to $136.00

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $131.00 to $136.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 0.99% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on KMB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $123.00 price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.38.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Performance

Shares of KMB traded up $1.32 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $137.36. 1,054,083 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,190,500. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $124.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.82. Kimberly-Clark has a 12 month low of $116.32 and a 12 month high of $147.87.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 260.47% and a net margin of 8.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the purchase, the director now owns 827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Kimberly-Clark news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $450,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,084,709. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 purchased at an average cost of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Trading of Kimberly-Clark

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,191,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $869,090,000 after purchasing an additional 177,712 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 14.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,996,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,815,000 after buying an additional 641,187 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 4.6% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,884,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,345,000 after purchasing an additional 212,739 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 155,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kimberly-Clark in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $437,420,000. 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.