Primecap Management Co. CA Sells 80,950 Shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. has decreased its stake in CVS Health by 2.7%, now owning approximately 2.92 million shares valued at $197.59 million.
• CVS Health reported a net revenue of $98.92 billion for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing an 8.4% increase year-over-year.
• Several analysts have given CVS Health an "overweight" rating, with new price targets ranging from $75.11 to $84.00, indicating positive market sentiment.

Primecap Management Co. CA trimmed its stake in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,916,505 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 80,950 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 0.23% of CVS Health worth $197,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in CVS Health by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 118,335,394 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $8,017,223,000 after acquiring an additional 969,027 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $3,147,054,000 after purchasing an additional 7,075,209 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $2,739,927,000 after purchasing an additional 12,819,148 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,666,401 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,196,989,000 after acquiring an additional 1,212,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in CVS Health by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,038,089 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $809,730,000 after acquiring an additional 4,173,243 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other news, Director Guy P. Sansone acquired 1,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $63.70 per share, for a total transaction of $100,009.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $764,845.90. This represents a 15.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CVS Health Trading Up 1.1%

CVS Health stock traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $64.27. The stock had a trading volume of 441,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,026,527. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.52 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.58. CVS Health Corporation has a 12 month low of $43.56 and a 12 month high of $72.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.14.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.35. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 1.17%. The business had revenue of $98.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen raised CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group lowered their price target on CVS Health from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (up from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.11.

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.