Optas LLC Makes New Investment in CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Optas LLC bought a new position in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 6,284 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $433,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CVS. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 87.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,927,650 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $672,598,000 after acquiring an additional 4,632,530 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in CVS Health by 4.8% in the first quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 73,459,122 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $4,976,856,000 after buying an additional 3,353,223 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health during the first quarter worth about $204,421,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in CVS Health by 13.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 20,413,853 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,383,039,000 after buying an additional 2,375,764 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in CVS Health by 815.2% during the second quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 2,663,111 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $183,701,000 after buying an additional 2,372,121 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CVS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bernstein Bank lowered their target price on shares of CVS Health from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $84.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the director owned 22,156 shares in the company, valued at $1,573,519.12. The trade was a 25.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS Health stock opened at $76.78 on Friday. CVS Health Corporation has a one year low of $43.56 and a one year high of $79.20. The company has a market cap of $97.38 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.59.

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

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 23rd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is presently 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.