Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in CVS Health by 38.9%, acquiring an additional 4,170 shares, bringing its total holdings to 14,895 shares valued at around $1 million.
• CVS Health reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.46, and achieved a revenue of $98.92 billion, also exceeding estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.665 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 3.7%, with a current dividend payout ratio of 74.30%.

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 38.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,895 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 4,170 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC's holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in CVS Health by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 118,335,394 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $8,017,223,000 after buying an additional 969,027 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in CVS Health by 13.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,413,853 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,383,039,000 after buying an additional 2,375,764 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in CVS Health by 14.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in CVS Health by 5.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in CVS Health by 0.5% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,555,958 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $850,666,000 after buying an additional 64,002 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In related news, Director Guy P. Sansone bought 1,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $63.70 per share, for a total transaction of $100,009.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 12,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $764,845.90. This trade represents a 15.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of CVS Health stock traded up $0.39 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.94. 3,586,239 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,055,836. The firm has a market cap of $91.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. CVS Health Corporation has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $72.51. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $65.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.46.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $98.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.87 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 1.17%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict 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 paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 22nd. CVS Health's payout ratio is 74.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CVS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on CVS Health from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group upgraded CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Bernstein Bank decreased their target price on CVS Health from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on CVS Health from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $77.56.

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.