Jennison Associates LLC Increases Stock Holdings in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)

Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 503.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,896,341 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after buying an additional 1,582,257 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.15% of CVS Health worth $128,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whitebox Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in CVS Health by 25.0% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 648,266 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $43,920,000 after buying an additional 129,535 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in CVS Health by 2.1% in the first 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 buying an additional 183,813 shares during the period. Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. Can acquired a new position in CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $121,742,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in CVS Health by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,290,953 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $192,617,000 after buying an additional 293,406 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Guy P. Sansone purchased 1,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 12,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $764,845.90. This represents a 15.04% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVS traded down $1.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $61.94. 8,610,279 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,775,122. The company has a market cap of $78.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.82. CVS Health Corporation has a one year low of $43.56 and a one year high of $72.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $64.70 and a 200 day moving average of $63.00.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $94.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.07 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.59% and a net margin of 1.39%. CVS Health's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 22nd. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CVS shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on CVS Health from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Barclays set a $79.00 price target on CVS Health and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Mizuho increased their price target on CVS Health from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on CVS Health from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.06.

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.