Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Acquires 760 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,725 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 760 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CVS. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 34.8% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 11,897,034 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $748,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,071,613 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 7,567.7% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 2,402,901 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $107,866,000 after buying an additional 2,371,563 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,527,909 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,554,475,000 after buying an additional 1,989,066 shares in the last quarter. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the 3rd quarter worth $121,987,000. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its stake in CVS Health by 1,470.2% in the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 1,396,464 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $87,810,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307,531 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS stock opened at $64.26 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $81.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.61. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $55.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.58. CVS Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.56 and a fifty-two week high of $80.75.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on CVS. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Edward Jones upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus set a $77.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CVS Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other news, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Profile

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.