CVS Health Corporation $CVS Stock: Payden & Rygel Increases Stake

Payden & Rygel lifted its position in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) by 19.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 260,340 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 41,640 shares during the quarter. CVS Health comprises approximately 1.7% of Payden & Rygel’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $22,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in CVS Health in the second quarter valued at approximately $12,747,462,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in CVS Health by 26.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 74,927,064 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $7,751,205,000 after purchasing an additional 15,604,883 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 49.8% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 33,801,113 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,496,725,000 after purchasing an additional 11,233,381 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 148.0% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 23,188,670 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,398,868,000 after purchasing an additional 13,836,701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,217,558,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CVS. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on CVS Health from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Piper Sandler set a $112.00 target price on CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $103.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on CVS Health from $107.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $107.00 price target on CVS Health in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CVS Health currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.64.

CVS Health Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE CVS opened at $90.20 on Friday. CVS Health Corporation has a 12-month low of $69.51 and a 12-month high of $110.68. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $115.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.60.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.71. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 13.12%. The firm had revenue of $106.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $100.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.81 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. CVS Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-8.100 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that CVS Health Corporation will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.6650 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 70.37%.

About CVS Health

CVS Health Corporation (NYSE: CVS) is a diversified health care company that provides pharmacy, insurance and health services in the United States. Its businesses serve consumers, employers, health plans and health care providers through pharmacies, benefit programs, insurance coverage and clinical care services.

The company’s Pharmacy Services segment, led by CVS Caremark, manages prescription drug benefits for employers, insurers and government programs. CVS Pharmacy operates retail pharmacies and health-focused stores that dispense prescriptions and offer over-the-counter products, health and wellness merchandise, immunizations and related services.