Royal Bank of Canada Purchases 3,952,444 Shares of Kenvue Inc. $KVUE

Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) by 78.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,979,296 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,952,444 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Kenvue were worth $154,802,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KVUE. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Kenvue in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,528,000. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in Kenvue by 210.6% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 54,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 37,170 shares during the period. AXA S.A. grew its stake in Kenvue by 21.1% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 48,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 8,524 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Kenvue by 219.1% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 97,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,040,000 after purchasing an additional 66,930 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Kenvue by 0.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,873,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,217,000 after purchasing an additional 10,885 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on KVUE shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Kenvue from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Kenvue from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Kenvue from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Kenvue from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.58.

Kenvue Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:KVUE opened at $19.27 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.67, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.47. Kenvue Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.02 and a 12-month high of $22.28. 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 (NYSE:KVUE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.05. Kenvue had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 10.61%.The business had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Kenvue Inc. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kenvue Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. This is a boost from Kenvue’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Kenvue’s payout ratio is presently 97.65%.

Insider Transactions at Kenvue

In related 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 value of $679,751.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.59% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kenvue Company 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.