ARGA Investment Management LP Raises Stock Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 7,567.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,402,901 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,371,563 shares during the quarter. CVS Health accounts for 3.5% of ARGA Investment Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. ARGA Investment Management LP’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $107,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CVS. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 255.7% in the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in CVS Health in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in CVS Health during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in CVS Health during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised CVS Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $60.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.12.

CVS Health Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:CVS opened at $56.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.09. CVS Health Co. has a one year low of $43.56 and a one year high of $80.75. The firm has a market cap of $70.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.61.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its 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. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The company had revenue of $95.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. CVS Health’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 67.51%.

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.