Horizon Investments LLC Buys 784 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Horizon Investments LLC grew its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,227 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 784 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CVS. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its stake in CVS Health by 255.7% in the fourth quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in CVS Health during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 137.5% in the fourth quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 805 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CVS shares. Argus set a $77.00 price objective on CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CVS Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.83.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS opened at $67.84 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.20. CVS Health Co. has a 1-year low of $43.56 and a 1-year high of $80.75. The company has a market cap of $85.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. The trade was a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. 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.