Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Position in Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE - Free Report) by 237.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,481 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 26,387 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Kenvue were worth $899,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC raised its stake in Kenvue by 29.8% in the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 81,300 shares of the company's stock worth $1,736,000 after buying an additional 18,650 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Kenvue during the 4th quarter worth approximately $95,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its position in shares of Kenvue by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 13,461 shares of the company's stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC raised its position in shares of Kenvue by 36.2% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 50,792 shares of the company's stock worth $1,077,000 after acquiring an additional 13,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Kenvue by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 218,273 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,660,000 after purchasing an additional 19,973 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.64% of the company's stock.

Kenvue Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:KVUE opened at $21.73 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $41.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.00, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company's 50 day moving average price is $23.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.58. Kenvue Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.67 and a 52 week high of $25.17.

Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. Kenvue had a return on equity of 20.97% and a net margin of 6.66%. The company's revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kenvue Inc. will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kenvue Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Kenvue's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 149.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KVUE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price target on Kenvue from $22.00 to $24.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Kenvue from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Kenvue from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Kenvue from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Kenvue in a report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $23.50 price objective on the stock. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.33.

Kenvue Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding KVUE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.