Advisors Capital Management LLC Has $14.76 Million Stock Holdings in CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its stake in CVS Health Corporation by 7.3%, holding a total of 217,896 shares valued at approximately $14.76 million at the end of the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds significantly raised their positions in CVS Health during the same period, with Jennison Associates increasing its stake by a remarkable 503.8% to hold 1,896,341 shares worth $128.48 million.
• CVS Health reported strong quarterly earnings, with $1.81 EPS surpassing analyst expectations, alongside a revenue of $98.92 billion—up 8.4% year-over-year.

Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its position in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 7.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 217,896 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after acquiring an additional 14,761 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings in CVS Health were worth $14,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 503.8% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,896,341 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $128,477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582,257 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 648,266 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $43,920,000 after acquiring an additional 129,535 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in CVS Health by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,981,262 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $608,481,000 after purchasing an additional 183,813 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in CVS Health by 20.1% during the 1st quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 3,421,519 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $231,808,000 after buying an additional 572,533 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its holdings in CVS Health by 122.5% during the 1st quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 565,152 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $38,289,000 after buying an additional 311,098 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bernstein Bank dropped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of CVS Health from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Baird R W upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. UBS Group upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CVS Health currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.02, for a total transaction of $532,650.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,573,519.12. The trade was a 25.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

CVS Health Price Performance

NYSE CVS opened at $74.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. CVS Health Corporation has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $75.00. The company has a market capitalization of $94.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.62. The firm's 50 day moving average is $66.96 and its 200-day moving average is $66.22.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $98.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.87 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.17% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The firm's revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 22nd. CVS Health's payout ratio is presently 74.30%.

About CVS Health

CVS Health Corporation provides health solutions in the United States. It operates through Health Care Benefits, Health Services, and Pharmacy & Consumer Wellness segments. The Health Care Benefits segment offers traditional, voluntary, and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services.

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