Lazard Asset Management LLC Purchases 293,406 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,290,953 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 293,406 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.34% of CVS Health worth $192,617,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Financial Perspectives Inc boosted its stake in CVS Health by 137.5% in the 4th quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 805 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new position in CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 112.1% in the fourth quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. now owns 827 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS stock opened at $66.98 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.06. 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 one year low of $43.56 and a one year high of $72.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.73 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.60.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $94.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.07 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on CVS Health from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus set a $77.00 target price on CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Three equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $556,941.90. The trade was a 47.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,625,045.20. This represents a 320.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is currently 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.