HSBC Increases Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Price Target to $150.00

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at HSBC from $146.00 to $150.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the stock. HSBC’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.95% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $133.00 to $150.00 in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.50.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

NYSE:KMB opened at $136.43 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $45.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $125.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.75. Kimberly-Clark has a 1-year low of $116.32 and a 1-year high of $147.09.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 250.28%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Kimberly-Clark will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Kimberly-Clark

In other news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total transaction of $1,396,116.26. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,050.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.17, for a total transaction of $1,396,116.26. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $109,050.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 140.7% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 32,265 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,899,000 after buying an additional 18,860 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 2.5% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 6,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $782,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Ballast Inc. lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 3.2% in the third quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 9,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter valued at about $870,000. Finally, Keudell Morrison Wealth Management lifted its position in Kimberly-Clark by 5.9% in the third quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 3,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

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.