8 Knots Management LLC Has $41.81 Million Position in CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• 8 Knots Management LLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 27.3%, making it the 7th largest position in their investment portfolio, valued at approximately $41.81 million.
• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. significantly raised its stake in CVS Health by 87.5%, owning nearly 9.93 million shares after acquiring over 4.63 million shares in just the last quarter.
• CVS Health has recently reported a quarterly EPS of $1.81, surpassing estimates, with revenue rising 8.4% year-over-year to $98.92 billion.

8 Knots Management LLC grew its stake in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 27.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 617,120 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 132,202 shares during the quarter. CVS Health makes up approximately 5.3% of 8 Knots Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. 8 Knots Management LLC's holdings in CVS Health were worth $41,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in CVS Health by 0.8% during the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 20,705 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in CVS Health by 33.7% during the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 682 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in CVS Health by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its stake in CVS Health by 1.0% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 17,114 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,159,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in CVS Health by 3.7% during the first quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,930 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CVS. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Bernstein Bank dropped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $67.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.89.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $532,650.00. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS Health stock traded up $0.07 on Friday, hitting $73.76. The company had a trading volume of 5,074,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,804,935. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.00. 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 $93.56 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.62. CVS Health Corporation has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $74.53.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.35. The business 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%. The business's revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. Research analysts expect that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

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

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.