Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Buys 4,920 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 16.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 34,285 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,920 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $2,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Garland Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 0.3% in the second quarter. Garland Capital Management Inc. now owns 60,810 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,591,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 7.2% in 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 period. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health by 2.5% in the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,458 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on CVS shares. StockNews.com lowered CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho reduced their price objective on CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen raised CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.44.

CVS Health Price Performance

CVS Health stock opened at $53.19 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $59.23 and its 200 day moving average is $58.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $66.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.55. CVS Health Co. has a one year low of $52.71 and a one year high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $95.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.72 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.00%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 67.51%.

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.