Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in CVS Health Corporation by 14.1%, owning 217,684 shares valued at $15 million after selling 35,743 shares during the second quarter.
• Other hedge funds, including Praxis Investment Management and Callahan Advisors, made significant adjustments to their CVS holdings, indicating increased institutional interest in CVS Health.
• CVS Health reported earnings of $1.81 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.665 per share, reflecting a 3.3% dividend yield.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 14.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 217,684 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 35,743 shares during the quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings in CVS Health were worth $15,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CVS. Praxis Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in CVS Health by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,604 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $2,525,000 after acquiring an additional 2,410 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of CVS Health in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Callahan Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 136.8% in the second quarter. Callahan Advisors LLC now owns 76,650 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $5,287,000 after purchasing an additional 44,285 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,072,988 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $74,015,000 after purchasing an additional 17,649 shares during the period. Finally, Davidson Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 29.0% during the 2nd quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors now owns 256,566 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $17,698,000 after buying an additional 57,733 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

CVS Health Stock Performance

NYSE CVS opened at $81.40 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.24 billion, a PE ratio of 22.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.60. CVS Health Corporation has a 1-year low of $43.56 and a 1-year high of $81.93. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

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

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 23rd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. CVS Health's payout ratio is 74.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on CVS. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on CVS Health in a report on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $91.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on CVS Health from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.05.

CVS Health Profile

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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