Scotia Capital Inc. Raises Stock Position in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)

Key Points

• Scotia Capital Inc. has increased its stake in CVS Health Corporation by 17.0%, now owning 156,448 shares valued at approximately $10.6 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have also boosted their holdings in CVS Health, with hedge funds owning 80.66% of the company's stock.
• CVS Health recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.665, translating to an annualized yield of 4.3%.

Scotia Capital Inc. increased its stake in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 17.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 156,448 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after acquiring an additional 22,751 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in CVS Health were worth $10,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 637 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. PARK CIRCLE Co increased its holdings in CVS Health by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. PARK CIRCLE Co now owns 1,000 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its holdings in CVS Health by 77.2% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 1,024 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of CVS Health from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Bernstein Bank dropped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CVS Health currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Guy P. Sansone bought 1,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $63.70 per share, with a total value of $100,009.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CVS Health Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE CVS opened at $62.52 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $64.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.01. CVS Health Corporation has a 12 month low of $43.56 and a 12 month high of $72.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.58.

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

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd were given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio is presently 74.30%.

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.

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