CVS Health Corporation $CVS Position Lifted by Empyrean Capital Partners LP

Key Points

• Empyrean Capital Partners LP has significantly increased its holdings in CVS Health Corporation by 72%, acquiring an additional 641,000 shares, which makes CVS 3.7% of its investment portfolio.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Dodge & Cox, have also increased their positions in CVS Health, indicating strong interest in the company's stock.
• CVS Health reported a quarterly earnings surprise, with EPS of $1.81, beating analysts' expectations, and has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS, reflecting ongoing financial growth.

Empyrean Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 72.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,531,000 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 641,000 shares during the period. CVS Health accounts for approximately 3.7% of Empyrean Capital Partners LP's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Empyrean Capital Partners LP owned approximately 0.12% of CVS Health worth $103,725,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CVS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 118,335,394 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $8,017,223,000 after acquiring an additional 969,027 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% during the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 73,459,122 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $4,976,856,000 after purchasing an additional 3,353,223 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 13.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,413,853 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,383,039,000 after purchasing an additional 2,375,764 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in CVS Health by 14.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,309,289 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,037,205,000 after buying an additional 1,942,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in CVS Health by 5.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,647,873 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $924,643,000 after buying an additional 728,924 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of CVS traded up $0.07 on Friday, hitting $73.76. 5,074,859 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,804,935. The company has a market capitalization of $93.56 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.62. 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 simple moving average of $66.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.99. CVS Health Corporation has a one year low of $43.56 and a one year high of $74.53.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. The firm'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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $532,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on CVS. UBS Group raised CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, August 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on CVS Health from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $71.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price 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.