Independent Financial Group LLC Acquires New Stake in CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• Independent Financial Group LLC opened a new position in CVS Health during the first quarter, buying 12,893 shares valued at about $926,000.
• Several analysts remain positive on CVS, with recent price target increases from firms like Baird, Argus, Piper Sandler, and JPMorgan. The stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $105.38.
• CVS recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $2.57 EPS on $100.43 billion in revenue, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.665 per share to be paid August 3.

Independent Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,893 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock, valued at approximately $926,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CVS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in CVS Health by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 120,709,530 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $9,579,508,000 after buying an additional 1,824,424 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in CVS Health by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,183,743 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $4,776,182,000 after acquiring an additional 1,245,457 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in CVS Health by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,592,356 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $2,189,793,000 after acquiring an additional 900,153 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,666,265,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 20,373,774 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,616,863,000 after acquiring an additional 1,211,631 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CVS shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on CVS Health from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Argus lifted their target price on CVS Health from $90.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $113.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, June 1st. HSBC reissued a "hold" rating and set a $103.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CVS Health from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $105.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, Director Larry Robbins sold 370,462 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.45, for a total transaction of $34,619,673.90. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,824,799 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $450,877,466.55. This trade represents a 7.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Tilak Mandadi sold 69,551 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.58, for a total value of $6,230,378.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $907,714.14. This trade represents a 87.28% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,441,551 shares of company stock worth $323,703,977. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS Health stock opened at $107.49 on Tuesday. CVS Health Corporation has a one year low of $58.50 and a one year high of $108.97. The company has a market capitalization of $137.15 billion, a PE ratio of 47.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.36.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. CVS Health's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. CVS Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.300-7.500 EPS. Research analysts expect that CVS Health Corporation will post 7.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 23rd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. CVS Health's payout ratio is currently 117.18%.

CVS Health Profile

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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