Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Stake in CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC significantly increased its stake in CVS Health Corporation by 560.4%, owning 211,484 shares worth approximately $14.3 million after acquiring 179,461 additional shares in Q1.
• Major institutional investors such as Goldman Sachs and Dodge & Cox have also boosted their holdings in CVS Health, contributing to over 80% of the stock's ownership by such entities.
• CVS Health's latest earnings report indicated an EPS of $1.81, surpassing estimates, with revenue of $98.92 billion, reflecting an 8.4% year-over-year growth.

Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 560.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 211,484 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after acquiring an additional 179,461 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in CVS Health were worth $14,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 4,328 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 119.3% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 230,533 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $10,349,000 after purchasing an additional 125,434 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 765,186 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $34,352,000 after buying an additional 4,283 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP acquired a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth about $2,540,000. Finally, Integral Health Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth $22,445,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CVS Health news, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 22,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,573,519.12. The trade was a 25.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE CVS traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $75.00. 6,400,711 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,635,794. The company has a 50 day moving average of $66.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.22. The firm has a market cap of $95.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.62. CVS Health Corporation has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $75.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $98.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 22nd. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio is 74.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, August 14th. UBS Group upgraded CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $67.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, August 18th. Baird R W upgraded CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CVS Health currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.89.

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.