LifePlan Financial LLC Takes $1.58 Million Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

LifePlan Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 20,019 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,581,000. CVS Health makes up 1.6% of LifePlan Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CVS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in CVS Health by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,162,626 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $8,180,295,000 after purchasing an additional 485,744 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 33,576,388 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $3,128,984,000 after buying an additional 3,311,928 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in CVS Health by 29.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,487,238 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,919,159,000 after purchasing an additional 6,194,441 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 103,371.0% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,547,559 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,448,877,000 after acquiring an additional 15,532,533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,425,416,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total transaction of $2,267,947.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at $3,059,916.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. SVB Leerink began coverage on CVS Health in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. HSBC assumed coverage on CVS Health in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on CVS Health from $83.00 to $76.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of CVS Health from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $89.44.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS Health stock traded up $0.32 during trading on Monday, hitting $68.96. 7,231,266 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,963,071. The company has a market cap of $86.92 billion, a PE ratio of 10.67, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.52. CVS Health Co. has a twelve month low of $64.41 and a twelve month high of $83.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $75.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.78.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.11. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The company had revenue of $93.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.99 earnings per share. CVS Health's quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 8.33 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.18%.

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.

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