CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Bought by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 74.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,397,121 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after buying an additional 1,872,144 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.35% of CVS Health worth $197,387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 3.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,527,909 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $3,554,475,000 after buying an additional 1,989,066 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in CVS Health by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,361,673 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,651,997,000 after purchasing an additional 461,569 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in CVS Health by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $880,319,000 after purchasing an additional 6,475,271 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at $839,574,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,918,949 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $579,932,000 after buying an additional 710,281 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on CVS. Edward Jones upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group reduced their target price on CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Leerink Partnrs raised CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.39.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total transaction of $498,487.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 company insiders.

CVS Health Trading Down 5.9 %

Shares of NYSE:CVS traded down $3.97 during trading on Friday, reaching $63.54. 13,291,234 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,566,172. The firm has a market cap of $80.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.81. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $75.12. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $63.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.01.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. 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.