Duality Advisers LP Buys 13,442 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Duality Advisers LP lifted its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 23.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 70,544 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,442 shares during the period. CVS Health comprises approximately 0.6% of Duality Advisers LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Duality Advisers LP’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $5,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Live Oak Investment Partners bought a new position in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. 25 LLC purchased a new stake in CVS Health in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Ahrens Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health during the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 178.6% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 624 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 75.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $120.00 to $88.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on CVS Health from $114.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on CVS Health from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 1st. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on CVS Health from $103.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.00.

CVS Health Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $70.25 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.81, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.63. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $64.62 and a 12-month high of $104.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The pharmacy operator reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $88.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.41 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 0.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 21st were paid a $0.605 dividend. This represents a $2.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 20th. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 106.14%.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In other news, SVP James David Clark sold 25,759 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.92, for a total value of $1,929,864.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,698 shares in the company, valued at $351,974.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Profile

CVS Health Corporation provides health services in the United States. It operates through Health Care Benefits, Pharmacy Services, and Retail/LTC segments. The Health Care Benefits segment offers traditional, voluntary, and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services. It serves employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups, and expatriates.