CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Purchased by Palisade Asset Management LLC

Palisade Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,118 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 630 shares during the quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Atticus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in CVS Health by 149.0% during the fourth quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 366 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 111.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 461 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 400.0% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 539 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In other news, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,424.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other CVS Health news, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 1,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total transaction 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 $3,059,916.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CVS Health Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE CVS traded down $0.23 on Tuesday, reaching $55.74. The company had a trading volume of 17,144,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,872,880. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $53.70 and a 52 week high of $83.25. The stock has a market cap of $69.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.80, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $71.95 and its 200-day moving average is $73.09.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.38). The firm had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.53%. CVS Health’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. Equities analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CVS. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. UBS Group cut shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $85.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays cut their target price on CVS Health from $78.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on CVS Health from $95.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.55.

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.