Ariel Investments LLC Grows Stake in CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• Ariel Investments LLC increased its stake in CVS Health Corporation by 9.8%, acquiring a total of over 1 million shares worth approximately $69.1 million.
• CVS Health reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.81, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.46, and achieving revenues of $98.92 billion.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.665 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.6% with a payout ratio of 74.3%.

Ariel Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 9.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,020,033 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 91,407 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC owned approximately 0.08% of CVS Health worth $69,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of CVS Health during the 1st quarter worth approximately $464,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 191,359 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $12,965,000 after buying an additional 2,151 shares in the last quarter. Promethium Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CVS Health during the 1st quarter worth approximately $236,000. Empyrean Capital Partners LP lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 72.0% during the 1st quarter. Empyrean Capital Partners LP now owns 1,531,000 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $103,725,000 after buying an additional 641,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 992,585 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $67,248,000 after buying an additional 18,120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company's stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $73.76. 5,074,859 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,804,935. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.56 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $66.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.00. CVS Health Corporation has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week 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.

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

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.02, for a total transaction of $532,650.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 22,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,573,519.12. The trade was a 25.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CVS. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Baird R W raised shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Bernstein Bank lowered 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 report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $77.89.

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.