CVS Health Corporation $CVS Shares Sold by Abacus Planning Group Inc.

Abacus Planning Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) by 10.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,360 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 653 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CVS. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in CVS Health by 503.8% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,896,341 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $128,477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,582,257 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in CVS Health by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 648,266 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $43,920,000 after acquiring an additional 129,535 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in CVS Health by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,981,262 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $608,481,000 after acquiring an additional 183,813 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its position in CVS Health by 20.1% in the 1st quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 3,421,519 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $231,808,000 after acquiring an additional 572,533 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its position in CVS Health by 122.5% in the 1st quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 565,152 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $38,289,000 after acquiring an additional 311,098 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $77.48 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.62. CVS Health Corporation has a 12 month low of $43.56 and a 12 month high of $77.76.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced 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 business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 23rd. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 74.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of CVS Health 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,156 shares in the company, valued at $1,573,519.12. The trade was a 25.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CVS. Robert W. Baird upgraded CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $71.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on CVS Health from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Two research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.25.

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.