Lazard Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Kenvue Inc. $KVUE

Lazard Asset Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) by 17.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,286,035 shares of the company’s stock after selling 925,250 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Kenvue worth $73,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in Kenvue during the fourth quarter worth about $1,563,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Kenvue by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 410,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,088,000 after acquiring an additional 84,219 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kenvue by 24.1% in the 1st quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 3,351,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,771,000 after acquiring an additional 651,000 shares during the last quarter. Cohen Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Kenvue in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,448,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Kenvue by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,491,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,229,000 after acquiring an additional 618,720 shares in the last quarter. 97.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KVUE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded Kenvue from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Kenvue from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Kenvue from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Kenvue from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Kenvue from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Kenvue currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.58.

Insider Transactions at Kenvue

In other Kenvue news, General Counsel Matthew Orlando sold 38,491 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.66, for a total value of $679,751.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kenvue Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE KVUE opened at $19.43 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.94. Kenvue Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.02 and a twelve month high of $22.74. The company has a market capitalization of $37.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Kenvue Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a $0.2075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. Kenvue’s payout ratio is presently 97.65%.

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.