Raiffeisen Bank International AG Acquires New Shares in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 8,580 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $377,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 24,646 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 1,359 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC raised its position in CVS Health by 816.4% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 36,885 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after purchasing an additional 32,860 shares during the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,745,000. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,029 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $899,000 after purchasing an additional 2,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clarius Group LLC increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 41.0% in the fourth quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 5,116 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $230,000 after buying an additional 1,487 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CVS Health Stock Up 3.4%

CVS Health stock opened at $62.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $79.07 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.60. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $72.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $66.57 and its 200 day moving average is $59.22. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.63. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. The company had revenue of $94.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.26%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,625,045.20. This represents a 320.65% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CVS shares. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (up previously from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CVS Health currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.94.

CVS Health 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.