Royal Bank of Canada Increases Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Price Target to $126.00

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) had its target price lifted by Royal Bank of Canada from $123.00 to $126.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on KMB. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. HSBC upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Kimberly-Clark from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $134.85.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

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

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 EPS 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Kimberly-Clark will post 6.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 4,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $623,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 3,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Core Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Core Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.