DnB Asset Management AS Buys 11,483 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

DnB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 219,374 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,483 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $9,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CVS. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in CVS Health by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 46,938 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,951,000 after buying an additional 10,465 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% during 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 during the period. Hall Laurie J Trustee boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 25,484.4% in the fourth quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 11,513 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $517,000 after acquiring an additional 11,468 shares during the last quarter. B&D White Capital Company LLC bought a new stake in CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth about $417,000. Finally, TOMS Capital Investment Management LP acquired a new position in CVS Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $121,987,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS opened at $67.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $84.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $62.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.67. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $43.56 and a 1 year high of $79.98.

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

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is 72.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Edward Jones upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Argus set a $77.00 price objective on CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CVS Health currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.39.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 approximately $556,941.90. The trade was a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.