Sterling Financial Group Inc. Buys 2,169 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Sterling Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 16.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,363 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,169 shares during the quarter. Sterling Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $690,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of CVS. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in CVS Health in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 255.7% in the fourth quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of CVS Health during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CVS shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen increased their price target on CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on CVS Health from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.71.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $52.01 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $65.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.59. CVS Health Co. has a 1-year low of $43.56 and a 1-year high of $80.75.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $95.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.72 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 10.72%. CVS Health’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. Research analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.51%.

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.