Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,434,476 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after buying an additional 66,244 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.11% of CVS Health worth $90,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Garland Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Garland Capital Management Inc. now owns 60,810 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $3,591,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in CVS Health by 7.2% during the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 0.4% in the second quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 46,637 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $2,754,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in CVS Health by 3.5% in the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,268 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in CVS Health by 2.5% during the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,458 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen raised CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $59.00 to $85.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CVS Health has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.00.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS Health stock traded down $1.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $55.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,650,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,590,173. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $59.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.19. The company has a market capitalization of $69.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $52.77 and a 12-month high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The business had revenue of $95.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $92.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.21 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.79%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.51%.

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.