SFE Investment Counsel Raises Stock Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

SFE Investment Counsel boosted its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 64,883 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 4,431 shares during the quarter. CVS Health makes up about 1.3% of SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $5,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Weik Capital Management lifted its position in CVS Health by 0.7% during the first quarter. Weik Capital Management now owns 17,600 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,781,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. FCA Corp TX lifted its position in CVS Health by 0.6% during the first quarter. FCA Corp TX now owns 20,109 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,035,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Arvest Trust Co. N A lifted its position in CVS Health by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Arvest Trust Co. N A now owns 11,157 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,040,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its position in CVS Health by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 2,859 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apella Capital LLC lifted its position in CVS Health by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 3,378 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CVS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $87.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com downgraded CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.44.

CVS Health Stock Up 1.1 %

CVS Health stock traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $69.38. 5,667,005 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,830,836. The business has a fifty day moving average of $75.53 and a 200 day moving average of $73.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $87.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.71, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.52. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $64.41 and a 12-month high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $93.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.58 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 2.33%. CVS Health’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.99 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. CVS Health’s payout ratio is presently 41.18%.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In related news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total value of $2,267,947.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.