MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $14.95 Million Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 333,134 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,964 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $14,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 255.7% during the fourth quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Financial Perspectives Inc raised its position 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 last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 112.1% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CVS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Leerink Partners raised shares of CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired 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 approximately $2,625,045.20. This represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value 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. The trade was a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS Health stock opened at $67.19 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $66.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.75. The stock has a market cap of $84.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $71.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced 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, analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

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.