CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Purchased by Stanley Laman Group Ltd.

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. raised its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 1,366.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 80,672 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 75,172 shares during the quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $3,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CVS. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in CVS Health by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 644,326 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,924,000 after buying an additional 128,231 shares during the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in CVS Health by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 27,914 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,253,000 after acquiring an additional 2,470 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co acquired a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth $696,000. Polaris Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in CVS Health by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC now owns 489,500 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $21,974,000 after purchasing an additional 34,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Trading Up 15.0 %

Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $63.23 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $50.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $79.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.61. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $80.75.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. Equities research analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Leerink Partners upped their price target on CVS Health from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.78.

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.