Swiss National Bank Decreases Stake in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)

Key Points

• The Swiss National Bank reduced its holdings in CVS Health by 0.1% in the first quarter, now owning 3,549,260 shares valued at approximately $240 million.
• Institutional investors collectively own 80.66% of CVS Health's stock, indicating strong interest from major financial players.
• CVS Health recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.665 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 4.2%.

Swiss National Bank lessened its stake in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 0.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,549,260 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 4,500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.28% of CVS Health worth $240,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 118,335,394 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $8,017,223,000 after purchasing an additional 969,027 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $3,147,054,000 after purchasing an additional 7,075,209 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in CVS Health by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $2,739,927,000 after buying an additional 12,819,148 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in CVS Health by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,666,401 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,196,989,000 after buying an additional 1,212,126 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in CVS Health by 5.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,647,873 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $924,643,000 after buying an additional 728,924 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS stock traded up $1.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $65.49. 6,458,438 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,248,730. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $64.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.31. CVS Health Corporation has a 1-year low of $43.56 and a 1-year high of $72.51. The firm has a market cap of $83.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.29, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.58. 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 (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last announced 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. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.17% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The business had revenue of $98.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd were given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CVS shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on CVS Health from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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 research note on Monday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $84.00 price target (up from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.11.

Insider Activity

In other CVS Health news, Director Guy P. Sansone purchased 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, with a total value of $100,009.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 12,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $764,845.90. This represents a 15.04% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.