CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Acquired by Exeter Financial LLC

Exeter Financial LLC boosted its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 42,074 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,035 shares during the period. CVS Health makes up about 1.3% of Exeter Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Exeter Financial LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $2,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CVS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $839,574,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in CVS Health by 26.6% in 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 acquiring an additional 12,819,148 shares during the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers raised its holdings in CVS Health by 2,998.1% in the 4th quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 11,385,950 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $511,115,000 after acquiring an additional 11,018,438 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,147,054,000 after purchasing an additional 7,075,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 49.3% during the fourth 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 institutional investors and hedge funds.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $62.72 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $65.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.53. The company has a market cap of $79.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.60. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $72.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

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

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.24%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 63.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on CVS shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on CVS Health from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CVS Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.94.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In related news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health 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.