Banco Santander S.A. Sells 7,436 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Banco Santander S.A. lessened its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 60,031 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 7,436 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $2,695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CVS. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $90,200,000 after buying an additional 66,244 shares in the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in CVS Health by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,713 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $99,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health in the third quarter valued at $777,000. Finally, SpiderRock Advisors LLC increased its position in CVS Health by 3.2% in the third quarter. SpiderRock Advisors LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $680,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on CVS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Edward Jones upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on CVS Health from $60.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Argus set a $77.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In related news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at $556,941.90. The trade was a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. The trade was a 320.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS stock opened at $66.34 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a twelve month low of $43.56 and a twelve month high of $80.75. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 EPS 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, analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

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.