AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health Corporation by 6.2% during the third quarter, acquiring an additional 14,983 shares to bring its total holding to 257,204 shares, valued at $19.39 million at quarter end. Vanguard Group Inc. also increased its position, adding 2.06 million shares to reach 120.40 million shares, while State Street Corp added 800,414 shares for a total of 58.79 million. Geode Capital Management lifted its stake by 675,824 shares to 28.64 million, and Invesco Ltd. added 3.12 million shares, bringing its total to 23.53 million. Notably, Norges Bank initiated a new position valued at $1.36 billion. Collectively, institutional investors and hedge funds now own 80.66% of the company’s outstanding stock.

A wave of research updates has reinforced a generally positive outlook on CVS Health. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed its “outperform” assessment, while Wolfe Research raised its target from 85.00 to 100.00 and maintained an “outperform” rating. TD Cowen boosted its forecast from 100.00 to 105.00 with a “buy” recommendation. Conversely, Bank of America trimmed its target from 100.00 to 95.00 but upheld a “buy” rating, and Wells Fargo lowered its objective slightly from 103.00 to 102.00, retaining an “overweight” stance. Out of 23 firms covering the stock, 19 carry a Buy rating and four a Hold, yielding a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average target of 94.82.

In the third quarter, CVS Health reported earnings per share of 1.60, surpassing consensus estimates by 0.24, on revenue of 102.87 billion, which exceeded forecasts by approximately 4.02 billion and represented a 7.8% year-over-year increase. The company’s net margin stood at 0.12% and return on equity at 11.45%. Management announced a quarterly dividend of 0.665 per share, payable February 2nd to shareholders of record January 22nd, implying an annualized dividend of 2.66 and a yield of 3.6%. The dividend payout ratio remains elevated at 700% of trailing EPS.