CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Acquired by Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc.

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,114,660 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after acquiring an additional 27,180 shares during the quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. owned 0.09% of CVS Health worth $50,037,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 1,282 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 6,135 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 4,457 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,706 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Rogco LP lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Rogco LP now owns 6,752 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of CVS Health stock traded up $0.38 during trading on Thursday, hitting $60.42. 11,209,003 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,447,893. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $72.51. The stock has a market cap of $76.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $66.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.15.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.63. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. The business had revenue of $94.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.40%. CVS Health's payout ratio is 63.48%.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In related news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. The trade was a 47.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on CVS shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com upgraded CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Leerink Partners raised CVS Health from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.94.

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.