Prudential PLC Increases Position in CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Prudential PLC increased its stake in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) by 428.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 148,805 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 120,642 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $11,809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 120,709,530 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $9,579,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,824,424 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 2.1% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 68,382,158 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $5,155,380,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419,575 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 58,938,286 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $4,443,357,000 after acquiring an additional 149,701 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,692,203 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,012,347,000 after acquiring an additional 302,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,293,058 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,831,454,000 after acquiring an additional 760,579 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS Health stock opened at $96.11 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.03. CVS Health Corporation has a 1-year low of $58.50 and a 1-year high of $98.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $122.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.62.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.36. CVS Health had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The business had revenue of $100.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.25 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. CVS Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.300-7.500 EPS. On average, analysts expect that CVS Health Corporation will post 7.44 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 23rd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 23rd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 117.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CVS shares. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $93.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. HSBC increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.88.

More CVS Health News

Here are the key news stories impacting CVS Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CVS Health was upgraded to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), reflecting improved earnings optimism and adding to the bullish tone around the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Broker sentiment remains constructive on CVS Health, with recent coverage pointing to favorable views from Wall Street analysts and broader confidence in the company’s outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The managed-care group rallied after analysts cited softer medical cost and utilization trends across the sector, which can support margins and spill over positively to CVS Health. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: CVS Health highlighted community and affordable-housing projects in New Jersey and Massachusetts, underscoring its corporate social responsibility efforts, but these announcements are unlikely to move the stock materially. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Media coverage noted CVS Health is up about 8.5% since its last earnings report and asked whether the rally can continue, mainly reflecting investor attention on post-earnings momentum rather than a new catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: CVS CEO comments on AI, “super apps,” and primary care suggest longer-term strategy focus, but there was no immediate financial update in the coverage. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional community partnership news, including a job training lab in Lincoln Heights, is supportive of the brand but not a direct earnings driver. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Tilak Mandadi sold 69,551 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.58, for a total transaction of $6,230,378.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 10,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $907,714.14. This trade represents a 87.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Larry Robbins sold 1,983,538 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.45, for a total transaction of $187,345,164.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,213,261 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $586,842,501.45. The trade was a 24.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 3,441,551 shares of company stock valued at $323,703,977 in the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CVS Health Company Profile

CVS Health Corporation is a diversified healthcare company that operates a large network of retail pharmacies, pharmacy benefit management services and health care solutions. Headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, the company traces its roots to the early 1960s and has grown into an integrated provider of prescription drugs, over?the?counter products, clinical services and health insurance offerings. Its operating model combines retail pharmacy locations and in?store clinics with broader pharmacy and health plan capabilities.

Key business activities include CVS Pharmacy retail operations, MinuteClinic walk?in medical clinics and HealthHUB locations that offer expanded clinical services.