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

Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders purchased 12,993 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 144% compared to the average volume of 5,327 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their target price on Kenvue from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Kenvue from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Kenvue from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Kenvue from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Kenvue from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kenvue presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.33.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of Kenvue

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Kenvue by 67.5% during the fourth quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kenvue in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kenvue in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Kenvue by 64.9% in the second quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in Kenvue during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.64% of the company’s stock.

Kenvue Price Performance

KVUE stock traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $19.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,451,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,740,484. Kenvue has a 12 month low of $14.02 and a 12 month high of $22.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $18.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.79.

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

Kenvue Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were paid a dividend of $0.2075 per share. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. Kenvue’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 97.65%.

Kenvue Company Profile

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.