Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 12.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 153,359 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,549 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $9,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CVS. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in CVS Health by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 410,001 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $25,781,000 after purchasing an additional 36,132 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc. increased its holdings in CVS Health by 43.8% during the third quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 122,682 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $7,125,000 after buying an additional 37,395 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in CVS Health by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 134,523 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $8,459,000 after acquiring an additional 10,453 shares in the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 2nd quarter worth $57,584,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 448,323 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,191,000 after purchasing an additional 24,285 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Trading Up 3.6 %

NYSE CVS opened at $60.10 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $59.25 and a 200 day moving average of $58.67. The company has a market capitalization of $75.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.59. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $52.71 and a 1 year high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $95.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.72 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on CVS. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 price target (down from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. StockNews.com lowered CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.33.

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.