Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Invests $28.22 Million in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 628,540 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $28,215,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dodge & Cox increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,147,054,000 after acquiring an additional 7,075,209 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in CVS Health by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,739,927,000 after purchasing an additional 12,819,148 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,051,540 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,211,582,000 after purchasing an additional 689,867 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,666,401 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,196,989,000 after purchasing an additional 1,212,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $880,319,000 after purchasing an additional 6,475,271 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. 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 note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on CVS Health from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CVS Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.83.

CVS Health Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $65.30 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.87. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $71.45. The company has a market cap of $82.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. Research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at $2,625,045.20. The trade was a 320.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

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.