Panagora Asset Management Inc. Has $2.73 Million Stock Position in CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. significantly increased its stake in CVS Health Corporation by 280.5% during the first quarter, owning 40,233 shares valued at approximately $2.73 million.
• Several hedge funds have also raised their holdings in CVS, including Jennison Associates LLC, which boosted its position by 503.8% to own nearly 1.9 million shares worth $128.5 million.
• CVS Health recently reported strong quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $1.81 and revenues of $98.92 billion, exceeding analyst expectations.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 280.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,233 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after acquiring an additional 29,660 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in CVS Health were worth $2,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in shares of 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. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 281.3% in the first quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 572 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in CVS Health during the first quarter worth about $39,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in CVS Health by 39.4% during the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 637 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.02, for a total value of $532,650.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 22,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,573,519.12. This represents a 25.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.89.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS Health stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $73.76. 5,074,859 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,804,935. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $66.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.00. CVS Health Corporation has a 1-year low of $43.56 and a 1-year high of $74.53. 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 data on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 earnings per share 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 net margin of 1.17% and a return on equity of 10.51%. CVS Health's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 22nd were paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. 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.