CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Bought by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,494,378 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,652 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $67,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 258.9% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,542 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 2,555 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in CVS Health by 7.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,096,238 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $68,931,000 after purchasing an additional 79,132 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 3rd quarter worth about $326,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 261,194 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $16,424,000 after buying an additional 9,418 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS Health stock opened at $67.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $85.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. CVS Health Co. has a 12 month low of $43.56 and a 12 month high of $80.75. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.60.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.68%.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In other news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at $2,625,045.20. The trade was a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Leerink Partners upgraded CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.39.

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.