Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 28,387 Shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in CVS Health Corporation by 6.6% during Q1, accumulating a total of 456,208 shares valued at approximately $30.87 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on CVS, with Bernstein lowering its target price from $78 to $72, while others like Barclays and Morgan Stanley set higher targets of $80 and $82 respectively, maintaining overall positive sentiments.
• CVS Health recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.665 per share, yielding around 4.1%, supporting the company's track record of returning value to shareholders.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 6.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 456,208 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after acquiring an additional 28,387 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in CVS Health were worth $30,871,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Costello Asset Management INC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 281.3% in the first quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 572 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in CVS Health in the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 39.4% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 637 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management increased its holdings in CVS Health by 33.7% in the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 682 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CVS. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on CVS Health from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Bernstein Bank decreased their price objective on CVS Health from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird upgraded CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (up previously from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $75.68.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS traded up $1.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $68.56. The stock had a trading volume of 8,251,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,019,700. The firm has a market cap of $86.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.15, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $64.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.62. 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 Corporation has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $72.51.

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

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Guy P. Sansone acquired 1,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $63.70 per share, for a total transaction of $100,009.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 12,007 shares in the company, valued at $764,845.90. This trade represents a 15.04% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

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.