Clearbridge Investments LLC Purchases 1,872,144 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 74.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,397,121 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,872,144 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.35% of CVS Health worth $197,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 29.6% during the 4th quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 2,848,986 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $127,891,000 after purchasing an additional 650,832 shares during the last quarter. Allianz SE purchased a new stake in CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,648,000. Allstate Corp bought a new position in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,680,000. DnB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 219,374 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $9,848,000 after buying an additional 11,483 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,494,378 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $67,083,000 after acquiring an additional 51,652 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wolfe Research raised their price target on shares of CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.39.

CVS Health Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of CVS Health stock opened at $67.13 on Monday. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $43.56 and a 1 year high of $79.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $62.12 and a 200 day moving average of $57.68. The firm has a market cap of $84.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.34, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is presently 72.68%.

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.