Simplicity Wealth LLC Takes $579,000 Position in CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,396 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $579,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 0.8% during the first 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 during the period. Williams Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 2.5% during the second quarter. Williams Financial LLC now owns 6,923 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 1.0% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 17,114 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,159,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CVS. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on CVS Health from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CVS Health currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of $532,650.00. Following the sale, the director owned 22,156 shares in the company, valued at $1,573,519.12. This represents a 25.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS opened at $77.17 on Wednesday. CVS Health Corporation has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $79.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $97.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $71.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.46.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $98.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

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

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.