CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Acquired by Dodge & Cox

Dodge & Cox raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after buying an additional 7,075,209 shares during the period. CVS Health comprises 1.8% of Dodge & Cox's portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Dodge & Cox owned 5.57% of CVS Health worth $3,147,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its holdings in CVS Health by 255.7% in the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Financial Perspectives Inc increased 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 in the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in CVS Health by 112.1% during the 4th quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. now owns 827 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CVS Health Trading Down 2.0 %

CVS traded down $1.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $67.19. 16,054,208 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,827,434. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $66.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.77. CVS Health Co. has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $71.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last announced 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.68%.

Insider Activity

In other CVS Health news, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CVS. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Truist Financial upped their price target on CVS Health from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.83.

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.