<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Salem Investment Counselors Inc. reduced its position in  CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 22.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities &amp; 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.</p><ul><li>MarketBeat Week in Review – 05/12 - 05/16</li></ul><p>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 &amp; Eck LLC lifted its holdings in shares of  CVS Health by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath &amp; 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. </p><h2>CVS Health Trading Up 0.4%</h2><p>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. </p><ul><li>Is It Time to Buy the Dip in Novo Nordisk Stock?</li></ul><p>CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) 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. </p><h2>CVS Health Announces Dividend</h2><p>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%. </p><h2>Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades</h2><ul><li>Is Eli Lilly a Buy After Weak Earnings and CVS-Novo Partnership?</li></ul><p>Several brokerages have weighed in on CVS. Baird R W upgraded CVS Health from a &#34;hold&#34; rating to a &#34;strong-buy&#34; 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 &#34;buy&#34; rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. UBS Group upgraded CVS Health from a &#34;neutral&#34; rating to a &#34;buy&#34; 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 &#34;market perform&#34; rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Cowen  restated a &#34;buy&#34; 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 &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; and an average price target of $77.89.</p><p><b>View Our Latest Analysis on CVS</b></p><h2>Insiders Place Their Bets</h2><p>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. </p><h2>About CVS Health</h2> (Free Report)<p>CVS Health Corporation provides health solutions in the United States. It operates through Health Care Benefits, Health Services, and Pharmacy &amp; Consumer Wellness segments. The Health Care Benefits segment offers traditional, voluntary, and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services.</p><h2>Recommended Stories</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than CVS Health</li><li>How to Effectively Use the MarketBeat Ratings Screener</li><li>Ride the Luxury Retail Wave with These 3 High-End Brand Stocks</li><li>Low PE Growth Stocks: Unlocking Investment Opportunities</li><li>Wall Street Quietly Bets Big on These Chinese Tech Giants</li><li>Why Invest in 5G? How to Invest in 5G Stocks  </li><li>Meta's $600B U.S. Investment: Bearish or Bullish for Shares? </li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPUNWUw?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPUNWUw"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in CVS Health Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider CVS Health, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and CVS Health wasn't on the list.</p><p>While CVS Health currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>Salem Investment Counselors Inc. has reduced its stake in CVS Health Corporation by 22.5%, selling 14,135 shares during the second quarter, according to a recent SEC filing. After the sale, the firm holds 48,751 shares valued at approximately $3.36 million. Other institutional investors have also adjusted their holdings in CVS. The stock opened at $75.00, with a market cap of $95.12 billion and a PE ratio of 20.95. CVS recently reported earnings of $1.81 per share, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.665.</p>

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