Brandes Investment Partners LP Purchases 632,903 Shares of Kenvue Inc. $KVUE

Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) by 25.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,094,648 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 632,903 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Kenvue were worth $53,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Everett Harris & Co. CA grew its holdings in Kenvue by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 36,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $634,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Kenvue by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 26,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 6,728 shares during the last quarter. Holowesko Partners Ltd. bought a new stake in Kenvue during the 4th quarter worth about $6,176,000. Syon Capital LLC bought a new stake in Kenvue during the 4th quarter worth about $300,000. Finally, ING Groep NV grew its holdings in Kenvue by 1,311.9% during the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 9,856,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $170,018,000 after acquiring an additional 9,157,999 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on KVUE. Zacks Research raised shares of Kenvue from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Kenvue from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Kenvue from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Kenvue from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Kenvue from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.33.

Kenvue Stock Performance

Kenvue stock opened at $17.91 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Kenvue Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.02 and a 1 year high of $22.87. The company has a market cap of $34.38 billion, a PE ratio of 21.06, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50-day moving average is $17.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.51.

Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.05. Kenvue had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The company had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.24 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Kenvue Inc. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Kenvue Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Kenvue’s dividend payout ratio is presently 97.65%.

Insider Transactions at Kenvue

In other Kenvue news, General Counsel Matthew Orlando sold 38,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.66, for a total transaction of $679,751.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.59% of the company’s stock.

Kenvue Profile

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.