Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Grows Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 32.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 196,577 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,545 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $15,522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in CVS Health by 22.8% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,993 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 1,112 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in CVS Health by 18.3% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 60,115 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $4,245,000 after buying an additional 9,303 shares during the period. Sweet Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in CVS Health by 60.2% during the third quarter. Sweet Financial Partners LLC now owns 20,971 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,464,000 after buying an additional 7,877 shares in the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 4.9% in the third quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,144 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ulland Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 25.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,856 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In related news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $67.81. 1,278,076 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,490,477. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.86. CVS Health Co. has a 12 month low of $64.41 and a 12 month high of $83.25. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $74.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.65.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $93.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.58 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 2.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.99 EPS. Equities analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CVS shares. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Monday, February 26th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on CVS Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $83.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.44.

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.