Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Boosts Position in CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC significantly increased its stake in CVS Health Corporation by purchasing an additional 148,703 shares, bringing its total holdings to 204,515 shares valued at approximately $13.86 million.
• CVS Health posted earnings of $1.81 per share for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.46, and reported quarterly revenue of $98.92 billion, up 8.4% year-over-year.
• The company's recent dividend was set at $0.665 per share, translating to an annual yield of 4.0%, with a payout ratio of 74.30%.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 266.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 204,515 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after acquiring an additional 148,703 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in CVS Health were worth $13,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 118,335,394 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $8,017,223,000 after acquiring an additional 969,027 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $2,739,927,000 after acquiring an additional 12,819,148 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,666,401 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,196,989,000 after acquiring an additional 1,212,126 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,413,853 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,383,039,000 after acquiring an additional 2,375,764 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,647,873 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $924,643,000 after acquiring an additional 728,924 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CVS shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on CVS Health from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (up previously from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on CVS Health from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on CVS Health from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Two equities research 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, CVS Health currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.67.

CVS Health Stock Up 1.0%

CVS stock traded up $0.6740 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $70.8440. 3,347,022 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,890,994. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $65.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.79, a PEG ratio of 0.76 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. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd were issued 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 3.8%. CVS Health's payout ratio is presently 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.