Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Stock Position in Kenvue Inc. $KVUE

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Kenvue Inc. (NYSE:KVUE) by 27.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 310,686 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,192 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Kenvue were worth $5,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KVUE. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kenvue in the 2nd quarter valued at about $537,418,000. Independent Franchise Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of Kenvue by 233.4% in the second quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 31,265,574 shares of the company’s stock valued at $654,388,000 after acquiring an additional 21,886,537 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Kenvue by 38.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 30,265,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,447,000 after acquiring an additional 8,436,166 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Kenvue by 770.4% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 7,697,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $161,099,000 after acquiring an additional 6,812,675 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Kenvue by 82.5% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 14,509,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,446,000 after acquiring an additional 6,559,261 shares during the period. 97.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on KVUE shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Kenvue from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Kenvue from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Kenvue from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of Kenvue from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $22.50 to $22.00 in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $18.00 target price on shares of Kenvue in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.23.

Kenvue Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Kenvue stock opened at $16.82 on Monday. Kenvue Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.02 and a 52-week high of $25.17. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.42 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. Kenvue had a net margin of 9.55% and a return on equity of 20.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. Kenvue has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.000-1.050 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Kenvue Inc. will post 1.14 EPS for the current year.

Kenvue Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th were paid a $0.2075 dividend. This represents a $0.83 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 12th. Kenvue’s payout ratio is currently 110.67%.

Insider Transactions at Kenvue

In other Kenvue news, Director Jeffrey C. Smith bought 3,200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $17.37 per share, with a total value of $55,584,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 27,307,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474,333,567.84. The trade was a 13.27% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is 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.