Capital International Inc. CA Raises Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Capital International Inc. CA boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 49.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 415,408 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after acquiring an additional 136,976 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA's holdings in CVS Health were worth $18,648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Financial Perspectives Inc increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 137.5% during the 4th quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 805 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. increased its position in CVS Health by 112.1% in the 4th quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. now owns 827 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CVS Health news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CVS shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised CVS Health from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CVS Health currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.83.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE CVS traded up $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $65.58. 10,832,978 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,842,121. CVS Health Co. has a 12 month low of $43.56 and a 12 month high of $71.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.77. The company has a market capitalization of $82.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share (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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.68%.

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.