Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 29.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,848,986 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 650,832 shares during the period. CVS Health accounts for about 0.9% of Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.23% of CVS Health worth $127,891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 255.7% during the fourth quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of CVS Health during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc increased its holdings in CVS Health by 137.5% during the fourth quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 805 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

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

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on CVS. UBS Group dropped their target price on CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Argus set a $77.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their price target on CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.39.

CVS Health Stock Performance

NYSE:CVS traded up $0.68 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $68.75. The company had a trading volume of 5,015,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,499,707. The firm has a market cap of $86.68 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. CVS Health Co. has a 1-year low of $43.56 and a 1-year high of $75.27. The business's 50 day moving average price is $63.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.91. 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 (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. 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.