Cacti Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• Cacti Asset Management LLC reduced its position in CVS Health by 1.2%, now holding $27.76 million worth of shares, making it the fund's 17th largest holding.
• CVS Health recently reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings with an EPS of $1.81, surpassing analysts' expectations, and its revenue increased by 8.4% year-over-year.
• Analysts have shown varied sentiment towards CVS Health, with upgrades from Baird R W to a "strong-buy" rating and UBS Group raising its price target from $67 to $79.

Cacti Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 1.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 405,360 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 5,000 shares during the quarter. CVS Health comprises 2.0% of Cacti Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Cacti Asset Management LLC's holdings in CVS Health were worth $27,763,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $371,000. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs bought a new position in CVS Health during the first quarter worth $2,989,000. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 1.0% in the first quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,420,266 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $96,223,000 after buying an additional 14,454 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank grew its holdings in CVS Health by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 102,950 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $6,975,000 after acquiring an additional 3,990 shares during the period. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 1st quarter worth about $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on CVS. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on CVS Health from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of CVS Health from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Bernstein Bank decreased their price objective on CVS Health from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.89.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVS traded up $0.33 during trading on Friday, hitting $75.00. 6,400,711 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,810,735. CVS Health Corporation has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $75.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $67.11 and a 200 day moving average of $66.33. 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 company has a market cap of $95.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.62.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $98.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.87 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.17% and a return on equity of 10.51%. CVS Health's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 22nd. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CVS Health news, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of CVS Health 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,573,519.12. This trade represents a 25.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.