Poplar Forest Capital LLC Has $17.24 Million Stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Poplar Forest Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 21.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 384,140 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 101,934 shares during the quarter. CVS Health makes up about 3.2% of Poplar Forest Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Poplar Forest Capital LLC's holdings in CVS Health were worth $17,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position in CVS Health by 34.8% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 11,897,034 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $748,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,071,613 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 7,567.7% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 2,402,901 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $107,866,000 after buying an additional 2,371,563 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in CVS Health by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,527,909 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $3,554,475,000 after buying an additional 1,989,066 shares during the last quarter. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP bought a new position in CVS Health in the 3rd quarter worth $121,987,000. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its position in CVS Health by 1,470.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 1,396,464 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $87,810,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307,531 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other CVS Health news, 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 purchased 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. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $64.82. The company had a trading volume of 7,077,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,413,927. The company's 50-day moving average is $54.74 and its 200-day moving average is $56.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $81.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.61. CVS Health Co. has a twelve month low of $43.56 and a twelve month high of $80.75.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health's payout ratio is 72.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CVS shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Argus set a $77.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.83.

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.