Palisade Asset Management LLC Purchases New Shares in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)

Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 3,099 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CVS. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in CVS Health by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,147,054,000 after buying an additional 7,075,209 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,739,927,000 after acquiring an additional 12,819,148 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,051,540 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,211,582,000 after acquiring an additional 689,867 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,666,401 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,196,989,000 after purchasing an additional 1,212,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $880,319,000 after purchasing an additional 6,475,271 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of CVS Health from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.75.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS opened at $66.93 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $84.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.53. CVS Health Corporation has a 12 month low of $43.56 and a 12 month high of $72.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.63. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.59% and a net margin of 1.39%. The company had revenue of $94.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.07 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. CVS Health’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Guy P. Sansone bought 1,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $63.70 per share, for a total transaction of $100,009.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 12,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $764,845.90. This trade represents a 15.04% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.22% 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.