Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings 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 lifted its position in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 20.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,421,519 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 572,533 shares during the period. CVS Health comprises about 1.7% of Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.27% of CVS Health worth $231,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 0.8% in the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 20,705 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 33.7% in the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 682 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its stake in CVS Health by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 17,114 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,159,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its position in CVS Health by 3.7% during the first quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,930 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS Health stock traded up $1.52 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $70.12. 9,243,297 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,001,725. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $64.96 and a 200 day moving average of $64.72. CVS Health Corporation has a 12 month low of $43.56 and a 12 month high of $72.51. The firm has a market cap of $88.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a PEG ratio of 0.76 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 (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.87 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 1.17%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Guy P. Sansone bought 1,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $63.70 per share, for a total transaction of $100,009.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 12,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $764,845.90. This represents a 15.04% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on CVS shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on CVS Health from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Baird R W raised shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of CVS Health from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (up from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $76.32.

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.