Ascent Group LLC Buys 14,693 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 503.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 17,610 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,693 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 3,689 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares during the period. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC acquired a new stake in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 31,846 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,466,000 after buying an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 29,933 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,364,000 after acquiring an additional 1,885 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CVS. SVB Leerink reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 target price (down from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of CVS Health from $101.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Mizuho lowered their price target on CVS Health from $86.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. TD Cowen downgraded CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Edward J. Ludwig purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,165,424.40. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVS traded up $0.57 during trading on Monday, reaching $61.57. The stock had a trading volume of 9,204,250 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,593,842. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.29 billion, a PE ratio of 10.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.61. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $52.77 and a 52 week high of $83.25. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $58.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.17.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.33 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.75%.

CVS Health Company 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.