Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Sells 14,135 Shares of CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. reduced its position in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) by 22.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,751 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 14,135 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $3,363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 20,705 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 33.7% in the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 682 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 17,114 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,930 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CVS Health Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of CVS Health stock opened at $75.00 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $67.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.32. CVS Health Corporation has a 1 year low of $43.56 and a 1 year high of $75.55. The firm has a market cap of $95.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.35. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 1.17%.The company had revenue of $98.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. The firm’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. Equities research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 22nd were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on CVS. Baird R W upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. UBS Group upgraded CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Bernstein Bank dropped their price objective on CVS Health from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.02, for a total value of $532,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 22,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,573,519.12. This trade represents a 25.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

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.