KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases 87,000 Shares of CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in CVS Health Corporation by 18.8%, owning a total of 549,303 shares valued at approximately $37.89 million.
• Several institutional investors have also recently adjusted their positions in CVS Health, with 80.66% of the stock now owned by institutional investors.
• CVS Health announced a quarterly dividend of $0.665 per share, which will be paid on November 3rd, representing an annualized yield of 3.4%.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS boosted its position in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 549,303 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 87,000 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in CVS Health were worth $37,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in CVS Health by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 20,705 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Williams Financial LLC raised its holdings in CVS Health by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Williams Financial LLC now owns 6,923 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management raised its holdings in CVS Health by 33.7% during the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 682 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its holdings in CVS Health by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 17,114 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,930 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on CVS shares. Robert W. Baird raised CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $71.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Baird R W raised CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $67.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other news, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of the firm'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 directly owned 22,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,573,519.12. This trade represents a 25.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CVS Health Price Performance

NYSE CVS opened at $77.17 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.46. CVS Health Corporation has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $79.20. 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 stock has a market cap of $97.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.60.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $98.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.87 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 1.17%.CVS Health's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. Analysts anticipate that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 23rd. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.30%.

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.

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