GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires New Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 6,836 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $508,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its position in CVS Health by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 43,213 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,017,000 after acquiring an additional 18,385 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 991,601 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $69,261,000 after buying an additional 207,702 shares during the last quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 50,488 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,525,000 after acquiring an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 2.3% during the third quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 10,405 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $726,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 2.6% in the third quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 19,355 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,351,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS stock traded down $0.55 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $67.95. 3,734,818 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,666,143. The company has a market cap of $85.65 billion, a PE ratio of 10.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.52. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $64.41 and a 1 year high of $83.25. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.11. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $93.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.99 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CVS shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com lowered CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. SVB Leerink started coverage on CVS Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of CVS Health from $83.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.44.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,059,916.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Company 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.