Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Stock Holdings in CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP has reduced its stake in CVS Health Corporation by 1.4%, now owning approximately 0.67% of the company valued at $577.8 million.
• CVS Health reported quarterly earnings of $1.81 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenues reaching $98.92 billion, an increase of 8.4% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.665 per share, representing an annual yield of 4.0% and a payout ratio of 74.3%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its position in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,529,414 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 122,129 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.67% of CVS Health worth $577,816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CVS. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 281.3% in the 1st quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 572 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 39.4% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 637 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on CVS shares. 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 report on Monday. Baird R W raised shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $84.00 target price (up from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on CVS Health from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $76.67.

CVS Health Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of CVS Health stock traded down $0.0540 on Wednesday, reaching $70.9160. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,980,350 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,040,334. CVS Health Corporation has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $72.51. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $65.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.35. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 1.17%.The firm had revenue of $98.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In related news, Director Guy P. Sansone acquired 1,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $63.70 per share, for a total transaction of $100,009.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.