CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Acquired by Royal London Asset Management Ltd.

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 523,130 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,023 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $23,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in CVS Health by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 58,789 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,583,000 after buying an additional 2,343 shares during the last quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $89,000. North Forty Two & Co. purchased a new position in CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $354,000. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd grew its stake in CVS Health by 92.1% during the 4th quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 34,125 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,518,000 after buying an additional 16,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its stake in CVS Health by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 188,834 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $8,477,000 after buying an additional 4,585 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Price Performance

CVS stock opened at $67.22 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $80.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $84.75 billion, a PE ratio of 18.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 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, research analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

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 yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at $2,625,045.20. The trade was a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Leerink Partners upgraded CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on CVS Health from $60.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.