Cetera Trust Company N.A Raises Stock Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Cetera Trust Company N.A grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 45.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,543 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 3,625 shares during the period. Cetera Trust Company N.A’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CVS. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $839,574,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in CVS Health by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,739,927,000 after buying an additional 12,819,148 shares in the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers raised its stake in CVS Health by 2,998.1% during the fourth quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 11,385,950 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $511,115,000 after buying an additional 11,018,438 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,147,054,000 after acquiring an additional 7,075,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $880,319,000 after purchasing an additional 6,475,271 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.8%

CVS opened at $63.61 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $80.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $65.21 and its 200 day moving average is $59.94. CVS Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.56 and a fifty-two week high of $72.51.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.63. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. The firm had revenue of $94.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.18%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 63.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on CVS shares. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays set a $79.00 price objective on CVS Health and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.75.

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.