CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Bought by Portland Investment Counsel Inc.

Portland Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 2.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 200,800 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares during the period. CVS Health makes up 4.5% of Portland Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Portland Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $12,626,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CVS. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in CVS Health during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in CVS Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in CVS Health in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. First Community Trust NA grew its stake 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 during the period. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $59.82 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $52.71 and a 1 year high of $83.25. The company has a market capitalization of $75.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $95.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.72 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.21 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.45%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 67.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CVS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of CVS Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $66.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays lowered their price target on CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Mizuho cut their price objective on CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on CVS Health from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.33.

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.