72,125 Shares in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Purchased by Essential Planning LLC.

Essential Planning LLC. purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 72,125 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock, valued at approximately $3,238,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,318 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $733,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 29,300 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $880,319,000 after purchasing an additional 6,475,271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 213.8% in the 4th quarter. Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC now owns 43,622 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,958,000 after purchasing an additional 29,722 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CVS shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Argus set a $77.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.83.

Remove Ads

CVS Health Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $64.88 on Thursday. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $80.75. The company's 50 day moving average is $57.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $81.80 billion, a PE ratio of 17.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. Equities analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health's payout ratio is 72.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total transaction of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. The trade was a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

CVS Health Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CVS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.