CVS Health Corporation $CVS Stock: M&G PLC Decreases Position

M&G PLC decreased its position in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) by 36.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,106 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 6,363 shares during the quarter. M&G PLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $955,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 201.0% in the 2nd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 292 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in CVS Health during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Timbuktu Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Leerink Partners dropped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $112.00 to $104.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets set a $112.00 price objective on CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded CVS Health from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $103.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.25.

CVS Health Trading Up 0.5%

CVS Health stock opened at $89.43 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $114.43 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $89.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.97. CVS Health Corporation has a 52 week low of $69.51 and a 52 week high of $110.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $108.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $104.72 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 13.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that CVS Health Corporation will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.6650 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 30.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other news, EVP Prem Shah acquired 23,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $83.89 per share, with a total value of $2,001,195.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 88,516 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,425,607.24. This represents a 36.89% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting CVS Health

Here are a few of the latest stories about CVS:

• Positive Sentiment: A Zacks upgrade to Rank #2 (Buy) reflects growing optimism about CVS’s earnings outlook. Another report cited Aetna margin recovery, stronger pharmacy profits and robust cash flow as positives. Zacks rating upgrade Aetna recovery and PBM risks
• Positive Sentiment: Prem Shah, set to lead CVS Pharmacy after the planned split, reportedly bought $2 million of CVS shares. The purchase may be seen as a signal of confidence, though it does not guarantee results. Report on Prem Shah’s stock purchase
• Negative Sentiment: The planned 2028 breakup into two companies has raised uncertainty about execution and whether separating the businesses will fully address CVS’s challenges. Analyst fair-value estimates were trimmed from $116.28 to $113.76 as separation risk and caution were factored in. Analyst view on separation risk Ohio critics’ response to the breakup plan

CVS Health Company Profile

CVS Health is a U.S.-based health care company that operates retail pharmacies, provides pharmacy benefit management services, and offers health insurance and other health services. Its businesses include CVS Pharmacy, pharmacy benefit manager CVS Caremark, and Aetna, its health benefits division. The company also provides care through MinuteClinic walk-in clinics and health care businesses including Oak Street Health and Signify Health. Its services span prescription fulfillment, pharmacy benefit management, health insurance, primary care, and in-home and community-based care.