Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 12,208,668 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 304,386 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $767,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in CVS Health during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. First Community Trust NA boosted its stake in CVS Health by 116.2% in the 2nd quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 562 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in CVS Health during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of CVS stock opened at $57.07 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $59.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.60. The firm has a market cap of $71.81 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.55. CVS Health Co. has a 1-year low of $52.71 and a 1-year high of $83.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The company had revenue of $95.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CVS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen raised CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $85.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.28.

About CVS Health

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.