Traders Buy High Volume of Kenvue Call Options (NYSE:KVUE)

Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 24,195 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 168% compared to the average daily volume of 9,030 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KVUE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Kenvue from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Kenvue from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Kenvue from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $25.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of Kenvue in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Kenvue from $24.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.75.

Kenvue Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KVUE traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $23.09. 13,897,421 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,654,609. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $21.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.25. 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 for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. Kenvue had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 20.97%. Analysts predict that Kenvue will post 1.14 EPS for the current year.

Kenvue Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a $0.205 dividend. This represents a $0.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Kenvue’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 154.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KVUE. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Kenvue by 26.5% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 4,161 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 871 shares during the period. ING Groep NV grew its holdings in shares of Kenvue by 23.6% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 3,576,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,727,000 after purchasing an additional 681,954 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Kenvue by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 742,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,846,000 after purchasing an additional 21,222 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its stake in Kenvue by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 582,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,445,000 after buying an additional 109,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Longbow Finance SA increased its stake in Kenvue by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Longbow Finance SA now owns 280,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,990,000 after acquiring an additional 13,287 shares during the last quarter. 97.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.