Benjamin Edwards Inc. Purchases 4,182 Shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stock holdings in CVS Health Corporation by 14.6% during the 1st quarter, totaling $2,223,000 after acquiring an additional 4,182 shares.
• CVS Health reported $98.92 billion in revenue for the quarter and earnings of $1.81 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.665 per share, yielding 4.1% with a payout ratio of 74.30%.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 14.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,810 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after buying an additional 4,182 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in CVS Health were worth $2,223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in CVS Health by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 20,705 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management grew its holdings in CVS Health by 33.7% during the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 682 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in CVS Health by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its holdings in CVS Health by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 17,114 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,159,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in CVS Health by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,930 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on CVS. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on CVS Health from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Baird R W upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $71.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $84.00 target price (up from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $75.68.

CVS Health Stock Up 2.9%

CVS stock traded up $1.92 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $68.65. The stock had a trading volume of 5,313,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,918,049. The firm has a market cap of $87.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $64.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.54. CVS Health Corporation has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $72.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $98.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.87 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 1.17%. The firm'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 earned $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd were paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 22nd. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio is currently 74.30%.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In related news, Director Guy P. Sansone bought 1,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $63.70 per share, with a total value of $100,009.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 12,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $764,845.90. The trade was a 15.04% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

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.