Vestor Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 57,852 CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Vestor Capital LLC purchased a new stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS – Get Rating) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 57,852 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $5,855,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in CVS Health by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,810,314 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $5,860,552,000 after buying an additional 1,560,168 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,821,477 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,870,096,000 after purchasing an additional 414,724 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 22,099,200 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,273,690,000 after purchasing an additional 408,181 shares during the last quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 14,677,784 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,485,539,000 after purchasing an additional 163,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth about $1,346,805,000. 78.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CVS Health Stock Performance

NYSE CVS traded up $0.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $102.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,285,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,079,330. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $94.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.93. CVS Health Co. has a 12 month low of $80.15 and a 12 month high of $111.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.75.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 3rd. The pharmacy operator reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.24. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 15.19%. The company had revenue of $80.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 8.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 21st. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.77%.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In related news, EVP Alan Lotvin sold 22,541 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total value of $2,344,264.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,355,032. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Thomas M. Moriarty sold 138,654 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $13,172,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 626,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,495,935. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Alan Lotvin sold 22,541 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total transaction of $2,344,264.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 109,183 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,355,032. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CVS. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Thursday, June 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $113.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of CVS Health from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $122.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $118.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CVS Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $116.90.

CVS Health Profile

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CVS Health Corporation provides health services in the United States. The company's Health Care Benefits segment offers traditional, voluntary, and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services. It serves employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups, and expatriates.