Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Increases Stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,192,774 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after buying an additional 26,738 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.09% of CVS Health worth $53,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 1,282 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 6,135 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 4,457 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,706 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rogco LP boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Rogco LP now owns 6,752 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CVS. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CVS Health 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 directly owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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. Insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVS traded down $0.27 on Tuesday, reaching $64.66. 2,975,653 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,792,202. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. CVS Health Co. has a 1-year low of $43.56 and a 1-year high of $71.45. The firm has a market cap of $81.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day moving average of $66.45 and a 200-day moving average of $58.75.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. Equities analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.68%.

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.