Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Position in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,452,700 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 29,278 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of CVS Health worth $98,420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. PARK CIRCLE Co boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. PARK CIRCLE Co now owns 1,000 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 77.2% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 1,024 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Guy P. Sansone acquired 1,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $63.70 per share, for a total transaction of $100,009.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 12,007 shares in the company, valued at $764,845.90. The trade was 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 owned by insiders.

CVS Health Trading Down 1.7%

CVS Health stock traded down $1.15 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $66.29. The stock had a trading volume of 3,556,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,822,569. The company has a fifty day moving average of $65.11 and a 200 day moving average of $61.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. CVS Health Corporation has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $72.51. The firm has a market cap of $83.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.57.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.63. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 10.59%. The business had revenue of $94.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CVS. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Mizuho raised their target price on CVS Health from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of CVS Health from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (up previously from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.