Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Takes Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 26,500 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,114,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CVS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,696,285 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $9,293,299,000 after acquiring an additional 533,659 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 8.0% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 43,776,874 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,491,643,000 after buying an additional 3,232,172 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,917,923 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,024,334,000 after purchasing an additional 4,226,225 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth about $1,092,040,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,143,822 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,048,351,000 after purchasing an additional 184,297 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other news, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 1,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,165,424.40. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CVS Health Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of CVS traded up $1.65 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $63.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,895,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,547,652. The company’s 50-day moving average is $58.93 and its 200-day moving average is $67.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.95, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.52. CVS Health Co. has a 52-week low of $52.77 and a 52-week high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 2.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. CVS Health’s payout ratio is presently 46.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVS has been the subject of a number of research reports. SVB Leerink reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target (down from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Baird R W upgraded shares of CVS Health to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $76.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. TD Cowen downgraded CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $59.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.05.

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.