Ransom Advisory Ltd Makes New $1.48 Million Investment in CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• Ransom Advisory Ltd has made a new investment of approximately $1.48 million in CVS Health, acquiring 21,810 shares in the first quarter.
• CVS Health’s stock was recently upgraded by multiple analysts, including Robert W. Baird and UBS Group, raising the target price to as high as $82.00.
• The company also reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.81, exceeding the consensus estimate of $1.46, with revenues hitting $98.92 billion.

Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 21,810 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,478,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CVS. Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its holdings in CVS Health by 119.8% during the first quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 455 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in CVS Health during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 281.3% in the 1st quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 572 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in CVS Health in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in CVS Health by 39.4% during the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 637 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Baird R W upgraded CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. UBS Group upgraded CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on CVS Health from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.89.

CVS Health Stock Performance

NYSE CVS opened at $71.71 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $66.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.09. CVS Health Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $43.56 and a fifty-two week high of $74.53. The company has a market cap of $90.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.80.

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

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.30%.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other news, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.02, for a total transaction of $532,650.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 22,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,573,519.12. This represents a 25.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

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.

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