Ariston Services Group Buys Shares of 4,018 CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• Ariston Services Group has made a new investment of $272,000 in CVS Health, acquiring 4,018 shares in the pharmacy operator.
• CVS Health reported quarterly earnings of $1.81 per share, exceeding estimates of $1.46, alongside a revenue of $98.92 billion, up 8.4% year-over-year.
• CVS has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.665 per share, yielding approximately 3.7%, with a current payout ratio of 74.30%.

Ariston Services Group purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,018 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock, valued at approximately $272,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CVS. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its stake in CVS Health by 281.3% in the first quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 572 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in CVS Health during the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 39.4% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 637 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CVS. UBS Group upgraded CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $67.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, August 18th. Baird R W raised CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $77.56.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In other news, Director Guy P. Sansone acquired 1,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $63.70 per share, with a total value of $100,009.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $764,845.90. This trade represents a 15.04% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.5%

CVS stock traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.94. The stock had a trading volume of 3,445,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,738,598. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market cap of $91.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.42. CVS Health Corporation has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $72.51.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.35. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.17% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The firm had revenue of $98.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. The company's 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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd were given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 22nd. CVS Health's payout ratio is currently 74.30%.

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.