Meritage Portfolio Management Acquires 15,548 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Meritage Portfolio Management raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 30.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,322 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,548 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $5,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CVS. Atticus Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in CVS Health by 149.0% in the 4th quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 366 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 111.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 461 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health by 400.0% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its stake in CVS Health by 42.6% in the 4th quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 539 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total transaction of $2,267,947.35. Following the sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE CVS traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $67.22. The company had a trading volume of 4,386,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,628,810. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $74.61 and a 200 day moving average of $73.67. CVS Health Co. has a 1-year low of $64.41 and a 1-year high of $83.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.52.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $93.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.58 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 15.25%. CVS Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.99 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 41.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CVS has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.44.

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.