Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC Reduces Stock Position in Kenvue Inc. $KVUE

Key Points

• Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC cut its stake in Kenvue by 43.7% in Q3, selling 123,857 shares and leaving 159,733 shares valued at approximately $2.59 million.
• Director Jeffrey C. Smith bought 3.2 million shares in December at about $17.37 each, boosting his ownership to 27,307,632 shares (roughly $474 million of stock).
• Kenvue pays a $0.2075 quarterly dividend (≈4.6% yield) but has a payout ratio above 100% (107.79%); the company recently beat EPS and revenue estimates and trades at a market cap of about $34.4 billion with a P/E of 23.3.

Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC cut its holdings in Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE - Free Report) by 43.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 159,733 shares of the company's stock after selling 123,857 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC's holdings in Kenvue were worth $2,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in Kenvue by 9.1% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 21,845 shares of the company's stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 1,826 shares during the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kenvue by 115.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 47,191 shares of the company's stock worth $988,000 after purchasing an additional 25,245 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kenvue by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 25,221 shares of the company's stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 3,268 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Kenvue by 47.7% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,428 shares of the company's stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 7,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Kenvue by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 144,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,029,000 after buying an additional 22,248 shares during the period. 97.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kenvue Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE KVUE opened at $17.97 on Wednesday. Kenvue Inc. has a one year low of $14.02 and a one year high of $25.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $34.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.51. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $17.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.35.

Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.05. Kenvue had a net margin of 9.72% and a return on equity of 19.72%. The firm had revenue of $3.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Kenvue Inc. will post 1.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kenvue Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were issued a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Kenvue's dividend payout ratio is currently 107.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KVUE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Kenvue in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Kenvue from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $23.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Kenvue from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Kenvue from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Kenvue from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $19.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Smith bought 3,200,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.37 per share, with a total value of $55,584,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 27,307,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $474,333,567.84. The trade was a 13.27% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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