Banco Santander S.A. Trims Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Banco Santander S.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,031 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 7,436 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $2,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in CVS Health by 34.8% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 11,897,034 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $748,085,000 after acquiring an additional 3,071,613 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $116,033,000. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 7,567.7% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 2,402,901 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $107,866,000 after purchasing an additional 2,371,563 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,527,909 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,554,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TOMS Capital Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 3rd quarter valued at $121,987,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Price Performance

CVS stock opened at $66.34 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $80.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $83.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.75.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CVS shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Leerink Partners upgraded CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.83.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. The trade was a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at $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 owned by insiders.

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.