New York State Common Retirement Fund Boosts Holdings in Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE)

New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) by 26.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,811,743 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 585,420 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Kenvue were worth $60,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KVUE. Grove Bank & Trust lifted 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. purchased a new position in Kenvue in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Kenvue by 106.6% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 777 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Kenvue in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Kenvue by 300.8% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,441 shares in the last quarter. 97.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kenvue Stock Performance

KVUE stock opened at $22.26 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.14. Kenvue Inc. has a twelve month low of $17.67 and a twelve month high of $24.46. The firm has a market cap of $42.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.00, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.45.

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

Kenvue Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Kenvue’s payout ratio is 154.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on KVUE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Kenvue from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $25.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Kenvue from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Piper Sandler upgraded Kenvue from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $21.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Kenvue from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Kenvue from $23.00 to $21.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kenvue has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.00.

Kenvue 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.