InvesTrust Cuts Position in CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• InvesTrust reduced its holdings in CVS Health by 66.8%, owning 14,384 shares valued at $992,000 after selling 28,885 shares during the second quarter.
• CVS Health reported earnings of $1.81 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.46, along with revenue of $98.92 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.665 per share, with a current yield of 3.5% and a payout ratio of 74.30%.

InvesTrust lowered its stake in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 66.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,384 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 28,885 shares during the period. InvesTrust's holdings in CVS Health were worth $992,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CVS. Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its stake in CVS Health by 119.8% in the 1st quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 455 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew 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 valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health in the first quarter valued at $34,000. Costello Asset Management INC raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 281.3% during the 1st quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 572 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CVS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of CVS Health from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of CVS Health from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Bernstein Bank reduced their target price on CVS Health from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on CVS Health from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.89.

CVS Health Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of CVS Health stock traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $75.00. 6,400,711 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,810,735. CVS Health Corporation has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $75.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $67.11 and a 200-day moving average of $66.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.62.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

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 $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.02, for a total transaction of $532,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,573,519.12. This represents a 25.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

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.