Empirical Finance LLC Purchases 939 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 44,629 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 939 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $2,806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in CVS Health by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 82,922 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $6,614,000 after purchasing an additional 4,132 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new position in CVS Health in the first quarter worth about $62,454,000. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 1.9% in the first quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 116,942 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $9,327,000 after buying an additional 2,180 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,083 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 827 shares during the period. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC bought a new position in CVS Health in the first quarter worth $225,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Down 0.4 %

CVS opened at $54.88 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $52.77 and a 52 week high of $83.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.79. The company has a market capitalization of $69.06 billion, a PE ratio of 13.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.55.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $95.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.72 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.21 EPS. Analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.85%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Mizuho dropped their price target on CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. TD Cowen raised CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $85.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on CVS Health from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

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.