Kenvue Inc. $KVUE Shares Sold by Woodline Partners LP

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP has reduced its stake in Kenvue Inc. by 26.5%, selling 279,282 shares in the first quarter and holding a total of 773,866 shares valued at approximately $18.56 million.
• Kenvue recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.29 per share, slightly surpassing analysts' expectations but indicating a 4% revenue decline year-over-year, with revenues totaling $3.84 billion.
• The company has declared a new quarterly dividend of $0.2075 per share, reflecting a yield of 4.5% and an increase from the previous dividend of $0.21, although its payout ratio stands at a high 112.16%.

Woodline Partners LP trimmed its holdings in Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE - Free Report) by 26.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 773,866 shares of the company's stock after selling 279,282 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in Kenvue were worth $18,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in KVUE. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Kenvue by 26.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 224,937 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,394,000 after acquiring an additional 46,928 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kenvue in the 1st quarter worth about $341,000. Adalta Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Kenvue in the 1st quarter worth about $192,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Kenvue by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 66,736 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,600,000 after purchasing an additional 1,360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kenvue during the first quarter worth about $857,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.64% of the company's stock.

Kenvue Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KVUE traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $19.03. The company had a trading volume of 26,726,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,182,142. Kenvue Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.15 and a 12 month high of $25.17. The stock has a market cap of $36.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.71, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $21.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.23.

Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.94 billion. Kenvue had a return on equity of 20.06% and a net margin of 9.37%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. Kenvue has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.000-1.050 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Kenvue Inc. will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Kenvue Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were given a $0.2075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. This is a boost from Kenvue's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Kenvue's payout ratio is 112.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KVUE. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Kenvue from $24.50 to $22.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Kenvue from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Kenvue from $25.00 to $23.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Kenvue from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Kenvue from $29.00 to $26.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kenvue currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $24.21.

About Kenvue

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.