Korea Investment CORP Increases Holdings in CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP increased its holdings in CVS Health Corporation by 50.8%, acquiring an additional 332,144 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to approximately $66.8 million.
• Several institutional investors have also modified their positions in CVS, with notable increases from McIlrath & Eck LLC and Costello Asset Management INC, highlighting a trend of growing institutional interest in the company.
• Multiple analysts have recently upgraded CVS’s target prices, with Morgan Stanley raising theirs from $80 to $82, reflecting a positive outlook on the stock's performance.

Korea Investment CORP grew its position in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 50.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 986,347 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after buying an additional 332,144 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.08% of CVS Health worth $66,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in CVS Health by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 118,335,394 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $8,017,223,000 after buying an additional 969,027 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in CVS Health by 13.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,413,853 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,383,039,000 after buying an additional 2,375,764 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in CVS Health by 5.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,647,873 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $924,643,000 after buying an additional 728,924 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,366,403 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $600,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660,321 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 0.5% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,555,958 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $850,666,000 after purchasing an additional 64,002 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other news, Director Guy P. Sansone bought 1,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $63.70 per share, with a total value of $100,009.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 12,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $764,845.90. This represents a 15.04% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CVS shares. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (up from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Bernstein Bank decreased their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Two 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.67.

CVS Health Stock Performance

NYSE CVS traded down $0.2560 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $71.1740. 6,982,068 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,748,738. The business's fifty day moving average price is $65.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.11. 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 $90.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.58. CVS Health Corporation has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $72.51.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $98.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.87 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.17% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd were paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio is 74.30%.

CVS Health Company Profile

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.