Pzena Investment Management LLC Sells 935,521 Shares of CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Pzena Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,746,853 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 935,521 shares during the period. CVS Health makes up about 3.8% of Pzena Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,155,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 10.9% during the second quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 1,682 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Williams Financial LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 33.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its stake in CVS Health by 1.0% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 17,114 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,159,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CVS. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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, October 7th. UBS Group raised shares of CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were 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. This trade 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 through this hyperlink. 1.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CVS Health Trading Up 1.5%

CVS opened at $77.89 on Monday. CVS Health Corporation has a 1-year low of $43.56 and a 1-year high of $79.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $98.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $72.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.67.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. The business’s 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. Analysts predict that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 23rd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.