Sector Gamma AS Makes New Investment in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Sector Gamma AS purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 219,000 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $17,292,000. CVS Health accounts for 4.2% of Sector Gamma AS’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,162,626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $8,180,295,000 after purchasing an additional 485,744 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 2.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,214,296 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $992,442,000 after purchasing an additional 305,564 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 2.2% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,136,920 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $987,041,000 after purchasing an additional 303,512 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 2.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,717,825 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $864,821,000 after buying an additional 324,391 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $67.18. The company had a trading volume of 6,396,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,376,818. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market cap of $84.68 billion, a PE ratio of 10.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.52. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $64.41 and a 12-month high of $83.25. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $74.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.64.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly 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 was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.99 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 41.18%.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total value of $2,267,947.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on CVS. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $83.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.44.

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.