Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE)

Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 24,195 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 168% compared to the typical daily volume of 9,030 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kenvue

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Kenvue by 438.4% in the 4th quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 947 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kenvue during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kenvue by 67.4% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,418 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Kenvue by 106.6% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Kenvue during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.64% of the company’s stock.

Kenvue Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KVUE traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $23.09. 13,897,421 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,654,609. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.00. Kenvue has a 52 week low of $17.67 and a 52 week high of $24.46.

Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.26. Kenvue had a return on equity of 20.97% and a net margin of 6.66%. Sell-side analysts predict that Kenvue will post 1.14 EPS for the current year.

Kenvue Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.205 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. Kenvue’s dividend payout ratio is currently 154.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Kenvue from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Kenvue from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Kenvue from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Kenvue from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $24.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Kenvue from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kenvue currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.75.

Kenvue Company 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.