Gotham Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 119.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 230,533 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 125,434 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $10,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CVS. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $84.00 price target (up from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on CVS Health from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.81.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Price Performance

NYSE CVS opened at $66.98 on Monday. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $72.51. 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 stock has a market cap of $84.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $66.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.06.

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

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

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

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.