Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC Grows Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC raised its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 213.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,622 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,722 shares during the quarter. CVS Health accounts for approximately 0.1% of Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 165,314 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $7,421,000 after purchasing an additional 11,955 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in CVS Health by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 318,089 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $14,279,000 after acquiring an additional 56,895 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 38,370 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,722,000 after acquiring an additional 5,689 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in CVS Health by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 7,059,915 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $324,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,165,992 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CVS. Cantor Fitzgerald raised CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CVS Health Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $65.13 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50-day moving average is $56.84 and its 200 day moving average is $56.78. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $43.56 and a 1 year high of $80.75.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. On average, research analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 72.68%.

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.