Aviso Financial Inc. Boosts Stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Aviso Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 52.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,104 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 4,862 shares during the quarter. Aviso Financial Inc.'s holdings in CVS Health were worth $633,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 255.7% during the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CVS shares. Edward Jones upgraded CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.83.

CVS Health Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE CVS traded up $1.30 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $66.98. 3,594,227 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,450,430. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.60. CVS Health Co. has a twelve month low of $43.56 and a twelve month high of $80.75. The company has a market cap of $84.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $58.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.98.

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

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.68%.

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.