Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. Acquires 278,110 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 36.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,037,265 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 278,110 shares during the period. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. owned about 0.08% of CVS Health worth $61,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. USA Financial Formulas boosted its stake in CVS Health by 573.2% in the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 377 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. First Community Trust NA increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 116.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 562 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Steph & Co. boosted its position in CVS Health by 192.0% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 438 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, August 19th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of CVS Health in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $61.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $101.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.48.

CVS Health Trading Down 0.6 %

CVS Health stock traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $57.75. 6,263,025 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,149,185. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $52.77 and a 52 week high of $83.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.50 billion, a PE ratio of 10.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.86.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $91.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.41 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.98% and a return on equity of 12.72%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 6.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 22nd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.75%.

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.