Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 8,857 Shares of CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• Gamco Investors INC. ET AL reduced its stake in CVS Health Corporation by 6.2%, selling 8,857 shares and ending with a total of 134,996 shares worth approximately $9.15 million.
• CVS Health's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.81, surpassing estimates, with a revenue of $98.92 billion, which is an 8.4% year-over-year increase.
• Analysts are optimistic about CVS, with several institutions raising their price targets, including UBS upgrading to a "buy" rating and setting a new target price of $79.00.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lowered its position in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 134,996 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 8,857 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in CVS Health were worth $9,146,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 49.5% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,785,786 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $120,987,000 after acquiring an additional 591,209 shares in the last quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC increased its position in CVS Health by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 10,316 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 901 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its position in CVS Health by 41.1% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 43,438 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $2,943,000 after buying an additional 12,661 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its position in CVS Health by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 291,508 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $19,750,000 after buying an additional 17,070 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ICONIQ Capital LLC bought a new position in CVS Health during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $378,000. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CVS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Baird R W raised CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on CVS Health from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $77.56.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS stock traded up $1.03 on Monday, reaching $73.17. The stock had a trading volume of 6,391,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,107,539. The stock has a market cap of $92.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.62. CVS Health Corporation has a 1 year low of $43.56 and a 1 year high of $73.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.72.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $98.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 22nd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. CVS Health's payout ratio is 74.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In related news, Director Guy P. Sansone bought 1,570 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.02, for a total value of $532,650.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 22,156 shares in the company, valued at $1,573,519.12. This trade represents a 25.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.