Marshall Wace LLP Sells 1,992,101 Shares of CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Marshall Wace LLP lessened its stake in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) by 53.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,734,195 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 1,992,101 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $119,625,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CVS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in CVS Health in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,358,698,000. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 73,459,122 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $4,976,856,000 after purchasing an additional 3,353,223 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 23,532,479 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,623,270,000 after purchasing an additional 3,118,626 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the first quarter worth $204,421,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised 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 last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on CVS Health from $75.00 to $90.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Thursday. Argus increased their price target on CVS Health from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.95.

CVS Health Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE CVS opened at $75.52 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. CVS Health Corporation has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $85.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $78.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.23. The company has a market cap of $95.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 198.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.48.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $102.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.85 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 11.45% and a net margin of 0.12%.CVS Health’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.550-6.650 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 23rd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is presently 700.00%.

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.