123,492 Shares in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Bought by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 123,492 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $5,544,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 3rd quarter valued at about $816,000. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 87,000 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $5,471,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in CVS Health by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 846,208 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $53,210,000 after purchasing an additional 170,566 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in CVS Health by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 34,285 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,156,000 after purchasing an additional 4,920 shares during the period. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in CVS Health by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 463,819 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $29,165,000 after purchasing an additional 15,811 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS stock opened at $65.63 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $58.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.98. The firm has a market cap of $82.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $43.56 and a 1 year high of $80.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.81.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. Analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on CVS shares. Argus set a $77.00 price objective on CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on CVS Health from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned 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.