I started writing an article on $KVUE -- the consumer health company spun off from $JNJ -- and saw that it took $AAP's spot in the S&P 500 Index in late August.

This makes sense as it is a $40B+ market capitalization home to some of America's most recognizable brands.

However, it began trading on its own back in May. So now I'm curious.

Once it officially separated from Johnson & Johnson in May, were the S&P 500 tracking ETFs and mutual funds that held J&J -- and received shares of KVUE from the spinoff -- forced to sell their new Kenvue shares in May and now repurchase them in August and September?

Or do they have some leeway in anticipating that it will probably be added back to the S&P 500 later?

It's not a wildly important question, but I'm just thinking out loud.

Generally, stocks receive a boost once it is announced they are joining the S&P 500 -- see $ABNB and $BX -- but Kenvue has just steadily slid down nearly 20% since it started trading.

I'm curious to see if anyone here may know the logistics of these movements or have an idea of how things may turn out.