Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) Given New $123.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) had its price target increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $115.00 to $123.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on KMB. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a buy rating and a $135.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $124.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $134.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $125.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a 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 target for the company from $133.00 to $150.00 in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $134.85.

Kimberly-Clark Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Kimberly-Clark stock opened at $135.24 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $125.86 and a 200 day moving average of $122.89. The firm has a market cap of $45.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.86, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.40. Kimberly-Clark has a 1 year low of $116.32 and a 1 year high of $147.09.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. Kimberly-Clark had a net margin of 9.05% and a return on equity of 250.28%. The firm had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now owns 795 shares in the company, valued at $109,050.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Kimberly-Clark news, Director Mark T. Smucker purchased 827 shares of Kimberly-Clark stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $120.98 per share, for a total transaction 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Paula Ramos sold 10,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $109,050.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 204.0% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,500,000 after acquiring an additional 13,806 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 11.2% during the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 2,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at $4,253,000. Rockline Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the fourth quarter valued at $1,661,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Kimberly-Clark by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,671,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,740,000 after acquiring an additional 368,505 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.29% of the company’s stock.

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.