Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE)

Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors acquired 17,400 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 54% compared to the average daily volume of 11,333 call options.

Kenvue Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE KVUE opened at $17.19 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $33.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.55. Kenvue has a 12-month low of $14.02 and a 12-month high of $24.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.35.

Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.84 billion. Kenvue had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 10.61%.The business’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.24 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Kenvue will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

Kenvue Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.2075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Kenvue’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 97.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kenvue news, General Counsel Matthew Orlando sold 38,491 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.66, for a total transaction of $679,751.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.59% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kenvue

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kenvue by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 234,951,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,052,913,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604,040 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Kenvue by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 118,865,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,050,424,000 after acquiring an additional 4,063,257 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Kenvue by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,862,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $856,778,000 after acquiring an additional 371,322 shares in the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP raised its stake in Kenvue by 56.3% during the 4th quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 48,146,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $830,527,000 after acquiring an additional 17,343,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kenvue during the 4th quarter valued at $756,862,000. Institutional investors own 97.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on KVUE. UBS Group decreased their target price on Kenvue from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on Kenvue from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Kenvue from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Kenvue from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Argus upgraded Kenvue to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kenvue currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.33.

About Kenvue

Kenvue is a consumer health company that was established as a standalone, publicly traded business after separating from Johnson & Johnson. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol KVUE, Kenvue focuses on the development, manufacture, marketing and distribution of consumer health and personal care products across a range of categories including skin and beauty care, baby care, oral care, wound care and over‑the‑counter medicines.

The company owns and markets a portfolio of widely recognized consumer brands, including names familiar to global shoppers across retail and pharmacy channels.