CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Bought by SFE Investment Counsel

SFE Investment Counsel boosted its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,883 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,431 shares during the period. CVS Health makes up 1.3% of SFE Investment Counsel’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $5,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CVS Health by 103,371.0% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,547,559 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,448,877,000 after purchasing an additional 15,532,533 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at $1,425,416,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in CVS Health by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,487,238 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,919,159,000 after purchasing an additional 6,194,441 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in CVS Health by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 33,576,388 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,128,984,000 after purchasing an additional 3,311,928 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in CVS Health by 97.8% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,483,154 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $379,052,000 after purchasing an additional 2,711,102 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total transaction of $2,267,947.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,059,916.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CVS Health Price Performance

NYSE CVS traded up $0.78 on Thursday, reaching $69.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,667,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,830,836. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $87.45 billion, a PE ratio of 10.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.52. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $64.41 and a 52 week high of $83.25. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $75.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.73.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $93.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.58 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.99 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 8.32 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is 41.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CVS shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 price target on the stock. Finally, SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.44.

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.