California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Stake in Kenvue Inc. $KVUE

Key Points

• CalPERS reduced its Kenvue stake by 11.1% in the first quarter, selling 452,671 shares and leaving it with 3.6 million shares valued at about $62.2 million.
• Kenvue posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.32 versus the $0.27 estimate and revenue of $3.91 billion, up 4.5% year over year.
• The stock offers a 4.4% dividend yield, but the payout ratio is high at 97.65%; meanwhile, analysts are largely cautious, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.50.

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in shares of Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE - Free Report) by 11.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,607,466 shares of the company's stock after selling 452,671 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.19% of Kenvue worth $62,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Kenvue by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 234,951,484 shares of the company's stock worth $4,052,913,000 after buying an additional 1,604,040 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Kenvue by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 118,865,134 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,050,424,000 after buying an additional 4,063,257 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Kenvue by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 49,862,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $856,778,000 after buying an additional 371,322 shares in the last quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its position in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kenvue during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $756,862,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.64% of the company's stock.

Kenvue Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE KVUE opened at $18.94 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $18.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.86. The company has a market capitalization of $36.37 billion, a PE ratio of 22.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.47. Kenvue Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.02 and a 12-month high of $22.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.05. Kenvue had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.84 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.24 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Kenvue Inc. will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kenvue Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were issued a dividend of $0.2075 per share. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. Kenvue's dividend payout ratio 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 on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.66, for a total transaction of $679,751.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on KVUE shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on Kenvue from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings raised Kenvue from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Zacks Research downgraded Kenvue from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on Kenvue from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Kenvue from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Kenvue has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $19.50.

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.

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