LifePlan Financial LLC Buys New Stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

LifePlan Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 20,019 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,581,000. CVS Health comprises approximately 1.6% of LifePlan Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Donaldson Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 9,677 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 812 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 203,888 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $16,099,000 after purchasing an additional 6,039 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth $3,321,000. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth $234,000. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,245 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. HSBC began coverage on shares of CVS Health in a report on Friday, December 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

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

CVS Health Price Performance

CVS traded up $0.32 on Monday, reaching $68.96. 7,231,266 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,963,071. The stock has a market cap of $86.92 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.52. CVS Health Co. has a twelve month low of $64.41 and a twelve month high of $83.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $75.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $93.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.58 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 15.25%. CVS Health’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.99 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 8.33 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 41.18%.

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.