Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on KMB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $140.00 to $124.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup lowered their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $118.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective (down from $161.00) on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.64.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 0.2 %

Kimberly-Clark stock traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $129.67. The company had a trading volume of 1,881,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,081,561. The firm has a market cap of $43.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $131.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.41. Kimberly-Clark has a 1 year low of $117.67 and a 1 year high of $149.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.77, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.50. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 198.59% and a net margin of 12.97%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Andrew Drexler sold 3,000 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.01, for a total transaction of $417,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $702,417.53. The trade was a 37.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Planning boosted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 74,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,255,000 after purchasing an additional 4,661 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 43,088 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,955,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 0.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 47,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,575,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 2.2% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,320,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the second quarter valued at $248,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.