Great Lakes Advisors LLC Trims Position in CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC cut its CVS Health stake by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 11,343 shares and leaving it with 199,224 shares valued at about $15.8 million.
• CVS Health reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.57 versus the $2.21 estimate and revenue of $100.43 billion, while also guiding FY 2026 EPS to $7.30-$7.50.
• Analysts remain generally bullish: several firms raised price targets, and CVS currently has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $100.68.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lessened its stake in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 199,224 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 11,343 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC's holdings in CVS Health were worth $15,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in CVS Health by 407.2% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 350 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 281 shares during the period. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC increased its position in CVS Health by 93.7% during the 4th quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 370 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $100.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. CVS Health Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.50 and a 12 month high of $100.55. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.63. The stock has a market cap of $128.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.22, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.62.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $100.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.99 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. CVS Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.300-7.500 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that CVS Health Corporation will post 7.44 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 23rd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio is currently 117.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Tilak Mandadi sold 69,551 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.58, for a total transaction of $6,230,378.58. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 10,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at $907,714.14. This represents a 87.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Larry Robbins sold 1,983,538 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.45, for a total transaction of $187,345,164.10. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,213,261 shares of the company's stock, valued at $586,842,501.45. The trade was a 24.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 3,441,551 shares of company stock valued at $323,703,977 over the last 90 days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key CVS Health News

Here are the key news stories impacting CVS Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CVS Health said it is using Fluency’s enterprise AI platform to move autonomous agents from pilot projects into production, a sign it is working to cut administrative costs and improve workflow efficiency across the business. CVS is Using Fluency to Close Enterprise AI Deployment Gap
• Positive Sentiment: Aetna launched “Mental Health on Demand,” which gives members real-time access to care and ongoing support; the company highlighted very fast clinician connection times, underscoring stronger service delivery and potentially better member engagement. Aetna Launches Aetna Mental Health on Demand To Provide Real Time Access to Care and Ongoing Support
• Positive Sentiment: CVS Caremark expanded coverage options for GLP-1 weight-loss medications, a move that may support affordability for members while strengthening the company’s position in a fast-growing and closely watched drug category. CVS Caremark Delivers Affordability and Access to GLP-1 Weight Management Medications With Expanded Coverage Options

Analyst Ratings Changes

CVS has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of CVS Health from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of CVS Health from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of CVS Health from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of CVS Health from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $100.68.

About CVS Health

CVS Health Corporation is a diversified healthcare company that operates a large network of retail pharmacies, pharmacy benefit management services and health care solutions. Headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, the company traces its roots to the early 1960s and has grown into an integrated provider of prescription drugs, over‑the‑counter products, clinical services and health insurance offerings. Its operating model combines retail pharmacy locations and in‑store clinics with broader pharmacy and health plan capabilities.

Key business activities include CVS Pharmacy retail operations, MinuteClinic walk‑in medical clinics and HealthHUB locations that offer expanded clinical services.

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