AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in CVS Health Corporation by 38.2% in the first quarter, owning 3,687,268 shares valued at approximately $249 million.
• CVS Health reported a quarterly EPS of $1.81, exceeding consensus estimates by $0.35, with revenue of $98.92 billion, up 8.4% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.665 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.6% and a dividend payout ratio of 74.30%.

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 38.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,687,268 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 1,020,094 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.29% of CVS Health worth $249,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ariel Investments LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 1,020,033 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $69,107,000 after purchasing an additional 91,407 shares in the last quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health during the 1st quarter worth $464,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,151 shares in the last quarter. Promethium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health during the 1st quarter worth $236,000. Finally, Empyrean Capital Partners LP grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 641,000 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CVS traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $73.76. The stock had a trading volume of 5,074,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,804,935. The firm has a market cap of $93.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.62. 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 fifty-two week low of $43.56 and a fifty-two week high of $74.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $66.60 and a 200-day moving average of $66.00.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.87 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 1.17%.The firm's revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday. Baird R W upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Bernstein Bank reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $77.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CVS Health news, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 22,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,573,519.12. This represents a 25.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About CVS Health

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.