Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) Reaches New 52-Week Low After Analyst Downgrade

Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Monday after Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on the stock from $110.00 to $109.00. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has a hold rating on the stock. Kimberly-Clark traded as low as $96.20 and last traded at $96.4850, with a volume of 2795642 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $98.66.

KMB has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays set a $102.00 target price on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, January 16th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kimberly-Clark has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $115.85.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 3,049 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.29, for a total transaction of $317,980.21. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kimberly-Clark

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,846,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,121,027,000 after acquiring an additional 315,981 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 21,125,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,157,746,000 after purchasing an additional 294,228 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,917,154 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,202,322,000 after purchasing an additional 299,382 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,322,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $836,216,000 after purchasing an additional 65,619 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 50.4% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,839,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $790,934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,628,206 shares in the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 2.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.97, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.86. The firm has a market cap of $31.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.24.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.05. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 170.48%. The firm had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.5 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $1.28 dividend. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. This is a boost from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 84.35%.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.