World Investment Advisors Acquires 4,404 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 16.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 31,947 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,404 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,434,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 255.7% in the fourth quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in CVS Health during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 137.5% in the fourth quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 805 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on CVS shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on CVS Health from $60.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.39.

CVS Health Stock Down 5.9 %

CVS stock opened at $63.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $63.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.01. CVS Health Co. has a 12 month low of $43.56 and a 12 month high of $74.85.

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 net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.19%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.68%.

Insider Activity

In other CVS Health news, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health 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.