First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 413,987 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 16.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,958,827 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 413,987 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.24% of CVS Health worth $132,822,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in CVS Health by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,434,476 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $90,200,000 after acquiring an additional 66,244 shares during the last quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 25,484.4% in the 4th quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 11,513 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 11,468 shares during the period. B&D White Capital Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth $417,000. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 7,302 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in CVS Health by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 569,527 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $25,566,000 after buying an additional 105,708 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.2 %

CVS traded up $0.13 on Wednesday, hitting $65.58. 10,832,978 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,828,609. The stock's fifty day moving average is $66.48 and its 200-day moving average is $58.77. CVS Health Co. has a 12 month low of $43.56 and a 12 month high of $71.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $82.68 billion, a PE ratio of 17.92, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted 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. Four investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.83.

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.