Scharf Investments LLC Sells 33,927 Shares of CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• Scharf Investments LLC decreased its stake in CVS Health Corporation by 21.2%, selling 33,927 shares, which left them with 125,885 shares worth approximately $8.68 million.
• Multiple analysts have provided positive ratings for CVS Health, with upgrades from firms like UBS Group and Baird, resulting in an average price target of $77.89.
• CVS Health announced a $0.665 quarterly dividend, with an annualized yield of 3.5%, set to be paid to shareholders on November 3rd.

Scharf Investments LLC reduced its holdings in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 21.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 125,885 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 33,927 shares during the quarter. Scharf Investments LLC's holdings in CVS Health were worth $8,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in CVS Health by 0.8% during the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 20,705 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Williams Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 2.5% in the second quarter. Williams Financial LLC now owns 6,923 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management grew its stake in CVS Health by 33.7% in the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 682 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its position in CVS Health by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 17,114 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,159,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,930 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In related news, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.02, for a total transaction of $532,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,573,519.12. The trade was a 25.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS Health stock traded up $0.36 during trading on Monday, hitting $75.28. 7,226,341 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,002,839. 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $43.56 and a fifty-two week high of $76.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $68.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.70.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.35. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.17% and a return on equity of 10.51%. 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 company earned $1.83 EPS. The business'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. On average, equities analysts expect that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 23rd. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CVS. Baird R W raised CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Bernstein Bank cut their price objective on CVS Health from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on CVS Health from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays upped their price target on CVS Health from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.25.

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.