46,339 Shares in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) Bought by Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise has invested approximately $3.14 million in CVS Health by acquiring 46,339 shares in the first quarter.
• CVS Health's quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $2.25, exceeding estimates significantly, along with a revenue of $94.59 billion, up 7.0% from last year.
• Analysts have a positive outlook on CVS Health, with recent upgrades in ratings and a majority suggesting buy recommendations, indicating strong market confidence.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 46,339 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock, valued at approximately $3,140,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whitebox Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $249,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 503.8% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,896,341 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $128,477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,257 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 648,266 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $43,920,000 after purchasing an additional 129,535 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,981,262 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $608,481,000 after purchasing an additional 183,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. Can purchased a new stake in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $121,742,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on CVS Health from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group decreased their price target on CVS Health from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $84.00 price target (up previously from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.72.

CVS Health Trading Up 0.8%

CVS traded up $0.51 during trading on Friday, hitting $62.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,530,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,113,521. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $64.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $79.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.92, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.57. CVS Health Corporation has a twelve month low of $43.56 and a twelve month high of $72.51.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $98.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.87 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.59% and a net margin of 1.39%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. On average, analysts expect that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 22nd. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.48%.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other news, Director Guy P. Sansone acquired 1,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $63.70 per share, for a total transaction of $100,009.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 12,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $764,845.90. This represents a 15.04% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.22% of the stock is currently 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.