Parkwood LLC Sells 19,600 Shares of CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• Parkwood LLC reduced its stake in CVS Health Corporation by 9.8%, selling 19,600 shares, leaving them with 179,677 shares valued at approximately $12.17 million.
• Despite Parkwood's divestment, several institutional investors increased their positions in CVS Health, with Costello Asset Management raising its stake by 281.3%.
• CVS Health recently received multiple rating upgrades from analysts, with UBS Group increasing its price target from $67 to $79 and maintaining a "buy" rating.

Parkwood LLC lessened its stake in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 9.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 179,677 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 19,600 shares during the quarter. Parkwood LLC's holdings in CVS Health were worth $12,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 20,705 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its position in CVS Health by 33.7% in the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 682 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 1.0% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 17,114 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,159,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 3.7% in the first 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 currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CVS Health Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE CVS traded up $2.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $73.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,665,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,409,952. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $93.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.62. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $66.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.09. CVS Health Corporation has a one year low of $43.56 and a one year high of $74.53.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $98.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.87 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.17% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. 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 (DPR) is 74.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on CVS. Sanford C. Bernstein increased 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. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.89.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In related news, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.02, for a total value of $532,650.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 22,156 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CVS Health 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.