Cerity Partners LLC Has $43.92 Million Position in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 25.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 648,266 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 129,535 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned about 0.05% of CVS Health worth $43,920,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Norges Bank bought a new position in CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at $839,574,000. Capital World Investors grew its position in CVS Health by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $2,739,927,000 after purchasing an additional 12,819,148 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox grew its position in CVS Health by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $3,147,054,000 after purchasing an additional 7,075,209 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in CVS Health by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,038,089 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $809,730,000 after purchasing an additional 4,173,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. Can bought a new position in CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at $121,742,000. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.06.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS Health stock traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $64.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,020,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,796,063. CVS Health Corporation has a 1-year low of $43.56 and a 1-year high of $72.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $65.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.22. The company has a market cap of $81.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.45, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.57.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.63. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 10.59%. The business had revenue of $94.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 22nd. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.48%.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other news, Director Guy P. Sansone bought 1,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $63.70 per share, for a total transaction of $100,009.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $764,845.90. This represents a 15.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

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.