Capital World Investors Purchases 12,819,148 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 26.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,819,148 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors’ holdings in CVS Health were worth $2,739,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CVS. Dodge & Cox raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,147,054,000 after acquiring an additional 7,075,209 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,051,540 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,211,582,000 after purchasing an additional 689,867 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,666,401 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,196,989,000 after purchasing an additional 1,212,126 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $880,319,000 after buying an additional 6,475,271 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $839,574,000. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In related news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total transaction of $498,487.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $67.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.60. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $43.56 and a 1 year high of $71.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $66.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.79. The stock has a market cap of $84.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 72.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler upped their price target on CVS Health from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.83.

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.