427,821 Shares in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Acquired by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 427,821 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $19,185,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CVS. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its holdings in CVS Health by 255.7% during the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in CVS Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc grew its holdings in CVS Health by 137.5% during the 4th quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 805 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. 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 the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Edward Jones upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Leerink Partners raised shares of CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.39.

CVS Health Trading Down 5.9 %

NYSE:CVS opened at $63.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $80.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. CVS Health Co. has a twelve month low of $43.56 and a twelve month high of $74.85. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $63.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.