Optimize Financial Inc Purchases Shares of 8,158 CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Optimize Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 8,158 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock, valued at approximately $366,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in CVS Health by 4.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,434,476 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $90,200,000 after acquiring an additional 66,244 shares during the period. Hall Laurie J Trustee lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 25,484.4% in the fourth quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 11,513 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 11,468 shares during the period. B&D White Capital Company LLC acquired a new stake in CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth about $417,000. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC increased its stake in CVS Health by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 7,302 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 569,527 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $25,566,000 after acquiring an additional 105,708 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on CVS shares. UBS Group cut their target price on CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of CVS Health from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on CVS Health from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 purchased at an average cost of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. The trade was a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CVS Health Trading Down 2.0 %

CVS Health stock traded down $1.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $67.19. The stock had a trading volume of 16,054,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,804,494. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. CVS Health Co. has a 12 month low of $43.56 and a 12 month high of $71.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.76.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio is 72.68%.

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.