Baird Financial Group Inc. Acquires 34,485 Shares of CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. has increased its stock holdings in CVS Health Corporation by 13.7%, bringing their total to 286,703 shares valued at approximately $19.42 million.
• CVS Health recently reported $1.81 earnings per share, surpassing analysts' expectations by $0.35, with quarterly revenue rising 8.4% year-over-year.
• The company's dividend yield stands at 3.6%, with recently paid quarterly dividends totaling $0.665 per share, reflecting a payout ratio of 74.30%.

Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 13.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 286,703 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 34,485 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in CVS Health were worth $19,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CVS. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in CVS Health by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 115,253 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $5,174,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in CVS Health by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,321,493 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $328,554,000 after purchasing an additional 639,325 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth $647,000. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth $523,000. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth $1,134,000. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CVS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Baird R W upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.89.

CVS Health Stock Performance

NYSE CVS traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $73.76. 5,074,859 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,804,935. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.62. CVS Health Corporation has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $74.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50 day moving average of $66.60 and a 200-day moving average of $66.00.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.35. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.17% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The business 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 earnings per share. 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 anticipate that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $1,573,519.12. This trade represents a 25.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

CVS Health Company 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.