Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Grows Stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 29.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,848,986 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 650,832 shares during the quarter. CVS Health accounts for 0.9% of Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $127,891,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allianz SE bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,648,000. Allstate Corp bought a new stake in CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at $1,680,000. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 219,374 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $9,848,000 after acquiring an additional 11,483 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,494,378 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $67,083,000 after acquiring an additional 51,652 shares during the period. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at $3,351,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In other news, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at $2,625,045.20. This represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE CVS opened at $67.13 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $43.56 and a 1 year high of $79.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.34, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business’s 50-day moving average is $62.12 and its 200 day moving average is $57.67.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on CVS Health from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.39.

About CVS Health

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.