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

World Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 16.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm 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 SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CVS. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 255.7% in the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 137.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on CVS. Truist Financial raised their target price on CVS Health from $60.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.39.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS Health stock opened at $63.54 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $63.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.36, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $74.85.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid 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 payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total transaction of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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.

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.