Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Has $231.81 Million Stake in CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in CVS Health by 20.1% during the first quarter, making it the firm’s 8th largest holding with a total of approximately 3.42 million shares.
• CVS Health reported a profit of $1.81 per share for the last quarter, significantly exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.46, with revenues of $98.92 billion, up 8.4% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.665 per share, yielding an annualized dividend of $2.66 and a payout ratio of 74.30%.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its stake in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 20.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,421,519 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 572,533 shares during the quarter. CVS Health makes up about 1.7% of Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.27% of CVS Health worth $231,808,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Costello Asset Management INC increased its stake in CVS Health by 281.3% in the 1st quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 572 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in CVS Health in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its stake in CVS Health by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 637 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in CVS Health by 33.7% in the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 682 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in CVS Health by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bernstein Bank reduced their price target 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. Baird R W upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. UBS Group upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $67.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In related news, Director Guy P. Sansone acquired 1,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $63.70 per share, for a total transaction of $100,009.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $764,845.90. This trade represents a 15.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CVS traded down $0.0540 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $70.9160. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,980,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,040,334. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $65.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.90. CVS Health Corporation has a one year low of $43.56 and a one year high of $72.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.58.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $98.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.87 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.17% and a return on equity of 10.51%. CVS Health's revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 22nd were given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 22nd. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio is 74.30%.

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.