Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV Buys New Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV purchased a new position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 2,946 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in CVS Health by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,162,626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $8,180,295,000 after purchasing an additional 485,744 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in CVS Health by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,487,238 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,919,159,000 after acquiring an additional 6,194,441 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,214,296 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $992,442,000 after acquiring an additional 305,564 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 2.2% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,136,920 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $987,041,000 after purchasing an additional 303,512 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 2.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,717,825 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $864,821,000 after purchasing an additional 324,391 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CVS Health Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of CVS stock traded up $0.14 on Monday, reaching $69.89. 3,515,850 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,756,756. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.63. CVS Health Co. has a one year low of $64.41 and a one year high of $83.25. The stock has a market cap of $88.09 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $75.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.77.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $93.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.58 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 2.33%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.99 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 8.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. CVS Health’s payout ratio is presently 41.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total value of $2,267,947.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CVS shares. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on CVS Health from $83.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on CVS Health from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $87.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.44.

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.