Vision Financial Markets LLC Makes New Investment in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 5,746 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CVS. PDS Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 3rd quarter worth about $243,000. United Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 3rd quarter worth about $206,000. M&G PLC raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 909,675 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $57,310,000 after purchasing an additional 18,955 shares during the period. Poplar Forest Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 27.1% during the 3rd quarter. Poplar Forest Capital LLC now owns 486,074 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $30,564,000 after buying an additional 103,602 shares during the period. Finally, WoodTrust Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $231,000. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS opened at $66.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $83.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $55.58 and a 200-day moving average of $56.63. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $80.75.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.03%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CVS has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Edward Jones upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.83.

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.