NorthRock Partners LLC Buys New Shares in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)

Key Points

• NorthRock Partners LLC has acquired a new stake in CVS Health Corporation, purchasing 14,237 shares valued at approximately $965,000.
• CVS Health announced a quarterly dividend of $0.665, which represents an annual yield of 4.26%, with the payment date set for August 1st.
• CVS Health's stock has seen significant interest from institutional investors, with 80.66% of the stock currently held by them, reflecting strong confidence in the company.

NorthRock Partners LLC bought a new position in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 14,237 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock, valued at approximately $965,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SSA Swiss Advisors AG acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 1st quarter worth $2,876,000. Seizert Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 584,141 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $39,576,000 after acquiring an additional 14,614 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 1st quarter worth $250,000. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,334 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $971,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the period. Finally, Dearborn Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the first quarter valued at about $215,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CVS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bernstein Bank reduced their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three investment 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.11.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

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

CVS Health Price Performance

CVS traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $62.52. 11,376,286 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,510,677. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.09 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.57. The business's 50-day moving average price is $64.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.85. CVS Health Corporation has a 1-year low of $43.56 and a 1-year high of $72.51.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 1.17% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. CVS Health's payout ratio is 74.30%.

About CVS Health

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.