UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Acquires 1,373,663 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 19.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,423,608 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,373,663 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.67% of CVS Health worth $378,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Financial Perspectives Inc raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 137.5% during the fourth quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 805 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 112.1% during the fourth quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. now owns 827 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of CVS Health from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Leerink Partners raised shares of CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.94.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS opened at $63.73 on Wednesday. CVS Health Co. has a 12 month low of $43.56 and a 12 month high of $72.51. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.63. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. The business had revenue of $94.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 63.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the 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 owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.