Kenvue Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:KVUE)

Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors acquired 61,496 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 564% compared to the typical volume of 9,267 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kenvue

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Kenvue in the fourth quarter worth $521,348,000. Starboard Value LP bought a new stake in Kenvue during the fourth quarter worth about $467,864,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kenvue by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 127,213,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,942,458,000 after purchasing an additional 18,283,473 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Kenvue by 61.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,719,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $912,059,000 after purchasing an additional 16,269,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Kenvue by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 97,661,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,085,070,000 after purchasing an additional 10,682,003 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.64% of the company’s stock.

Kenvue Trading Up 1.1 %

Kenvue stock opened at $23.97 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.00. Kenvue has a fifty-two week low of $17.67 and a fifty-two week high of $24.46. The stock has a market cap of $45.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.22, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $22.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.46.

Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. Kenvue had a return on equity of 20.97% and a net margin of 6.66%. Equities research analysts forecast that Kenvue will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kenvue Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. Kenvue’s payout ratio is presently 154.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on KVUE. Barclays boosted their target price on Kenvue from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Kenvue from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Kenvue in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Kenvue from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Kenvue in a research note on Monday, March 24th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $24.00.

About Kenvue

Kenvue Inc operates as a consumer health company worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Self Care, Skin Health and Beauty, and Essential Health. The Self Care segment offers cough, cold and allergy, pain care, digestive health, smoking cessation, eye care, and other products under the Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, Nicorette, Zarbee's, ORSLTM, Rhinocort, Calpol, and Zyrtec brands.