Capital International Investors Has $1.20 Billion Stock Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Capital International Investors increased its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,666,401 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,212,126 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors’ holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,196,989,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in CVS Health by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,434,476 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $90,200,000 after purchasing an additional 66,244 shares in the last quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 25,484.4% in the fourth quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 11,513 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $517,000 after buying an additional 11,468 shares during the period. B&D White Capital Company LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at $417,000. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC lifted its stake in CVS Health by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 7,302 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in CVS Health by 22.8% during the 4th quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 569,527 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $25,566,000 after acquiring an additional 105,708 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CVS. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research boosted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Leerink Partners raised CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.83.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $67.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.76. The company has a market cap of $84.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36, a PEG 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 $71.45.

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

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.