Kestra Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 25.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,806 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,384 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,527,909 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,554,475,000 after buying an additional 1,989,066 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in CVS Health by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,361,673 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,651,997,000 after acquiring an additional 461,569 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in CVS Health by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 13,135,308 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $825,948,000 after acquiring an additional 198,920 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in CVS Health by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,208,668 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $767,681,000 after purchasing an additional 304,386 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 11,897,034 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $748,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,071,613 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In related news, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CVS shares. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Leerink Partnrs raised CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.00.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS opened at $66.35 on Thursday. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $51.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.12. The stock has a market cap of $83.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.61. CVS Health Co. has a one year low of $43.56 and a one year high of $80.75.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. As a group, research analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.01%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.68%.

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.