JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Price Target to $123.00

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $115.00 to $123.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price points to a potential downside of 9.84% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com raised Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays increased 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 note on Friday, April 12th. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Kimberly-Clark from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $133.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.50.

Kimberly-Clark Price Performance

Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $136.43 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $125.53 and its 200-day moving average is $122.75. The company has a market capitalization of $45.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.40. Kimberly-Clark has a 12 month low of $116.32 and a 12 month high of $147.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.05.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Kimberly-Clark news, Director Mark T. Smucker acquired 827 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction of $100,050.46. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 827 shares in the company, valued at $100,050.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 795 shares in the company, valued at $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

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 926.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 90.9% during the 4th quarter. Cranbrook Wealth Management LLC now owns 210 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc acquired a new position in shares of Kimberly-Clark in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Centerpoint Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 175.0% in the 3rd quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. 76.29% of the stock is owned by 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.