Capital International Sarl Increases Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Capital International Sarl raised its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 75.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,151 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,306 shares during the quarter. Capital International Sarl’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $2,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,434,476 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $90,200,000 after acquiring an additional 66,244 shares in the last quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 25,484.4% in the 4th quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 11,513 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 11,468 shares during the period. B&D White Capital Company LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth $417,000. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 7,302 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 569,527 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $25,566,000 after purchasing an additional 105,708 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $67.19 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $71.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $84.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.79.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CVS Health news, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total transaction of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CVS has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.83.

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.