Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Shares Gap Up to $128.93

Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $128.93, but opened at $138.96. Kimberly-Clark shares last traded at $136.02, with a volume of 1,734,416 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. HSBC raised their price objective on Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com raised Kimberly-Clark from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $123.00 price target on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.85.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Up 4.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $45.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.40. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $124.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.94, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $5 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.99 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 260.47%. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.54 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Kimberly-Clark Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $1.22 dividend. This is a positive change from Kimberly-Clark’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total transaction of $450,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 17,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,084,709. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Kimberly-Clark news, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $120.98 per share, with a total value of $100,050.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $100,050.46. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Tristram Wilkinson sold 3,720 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.00, for a total value of $450,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 17,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,084,709. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kimberly-Clark

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KMB. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 15.7% in the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 7,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,002,000 after buying an additional 1,051 shares in the last quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 6.6% in the first quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 27,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,568,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares during the last quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Kimberly-Clark by 4.3% in the first quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 41,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737 shares during the period. Revisor Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 108.5% in the first quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $507,000 after acquiring an additional 2,098 shares during the period. Finally, Crescent Sterling Ltd. raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 2.3% in the first quarter. Crescent Sterling Ltd. now owns 6,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $826,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.