Poplar Forest Capital LLC Has $17.24 Million Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Poplar Forest Capital LLC lowered its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 384,140 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 101,934 shares during the quarter. CVS Health comprises about 3.2% of Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $17,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in CVS Health by 9.7% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 410,001 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $25,781,000 after purchasing an additional 36,132 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 28.7% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 46,938 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,951,000 after acquiring an additional 10,465 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,434,476 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $90,200,000 after acquiring an additional 66,244 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 8.4% during the third quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 134,523 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $8,459,000 after acquiring an additional 10,453 shares during the period. Finally, Hall Laurie J Trustee lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 25,484.4% during the fourth quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 11,513 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $517,000 after acquiring an additional 11,468 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of CVS Health stock opened at $65.85 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $43.56 and a 1 year high of $80.75. The business has a 50-day moving average of $54.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.46. The company has a market capitalization of $83.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.61. 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 (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, equities analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is presently 72.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on CVS shares. Wolfe Research upped their price target on CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Leerink Partnrs raised CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus set a $77.00 price target on CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Cowen increased their target price on CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CVS Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at $2,625,045.20. This represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CVS Health Company 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.