Sapient Capital LLC Buys Shares of 18,413 CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 18,413 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,454,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,767 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,215 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 682.9% during the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 80,407 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $6,349,000 after buying an additional 70,137 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management raised its position in CVS Health by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 5,964,887 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $470,987,000 after acquiring an additional 275,512 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 66,401 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $5,243,000 after acquiring an additional 4,476 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth $6,147,000. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Price Performance

CVS stock traded up $0.75 during trading on Friday, hitting $55.90. 23,946,075 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,498,538. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.26. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $53.70 and a 52 week high of $83.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.56.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.38). CVS Health had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 46.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on CVS. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered CVS Health from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $87.00 to $58.00 in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of CVS Health from $83.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $78.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. 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. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Eight 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.35.

Insider Activity

In other CVS Health news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total value of $2,267,947.35. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Edward J. Ludwig acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,424.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at $3,059,916.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health 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.