Stamos Capital Partners L.P. Buys 9,000 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Stamos Capital Partners L.P. boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 96,260 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 9,000 shares during the period. CVS Health comprises approximately 1.0% of Stamos Capital Partners L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Stamos Capital Partners L.P.'s holdings in CVS Health were worth $4,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CVS. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Financial Perspectives Inc raised its holdings in CVS Health by 137.5% in the 4th quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 805 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 112.1% during the fourth quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. now owns 827 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other CVS Health news, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. The trade was a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CVS. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.83.

CVS Health Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE:CVS traded down $1.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $67.19. 16,054,208 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,804,494. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. CVS Health Co. has a twelve month low of $43.56 and a twelve month high of $71.45. The company has a market capitalization of $84.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. The company's 50 day moving average is $66.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.76.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share (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%. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health's payout ratio is presently 72.68%.

CVS Health 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.