Zhang Financial LLC Acquires 1,240 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Zhang Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 19.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,617 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in CVS Health by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,162,626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $8,180,295,000 after buying an additional 485,744 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in CVS Health by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 33,576,388 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,128,984,000 after buying an additional 3,311,928 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health by 29.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,487,238 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,919,159,000 after buying an additional 6,194,441 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health by 103,371.0% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,547,559 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,448,877,000 after buying an additional 15,532,533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,425,416,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CVS Health Trading Up 1.5 %

CVS opened at $69.75 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $75.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.70. The company has a market capitalization of $87.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.52. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $64.41 and a 52 week high of $83.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $93.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.58 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 2.33%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.99 EPS. Analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.18%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. HSBC initiated coverage on CVS Health in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total transaction of $2,267,947.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.