BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Increases Stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 187.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 579,117 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 377,739 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $34,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CVS. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 0.8% in the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 19,225 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,410,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 0.7% in the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 22,268 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,776,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,166 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Sepio Capital LP grew its position in CVS Health by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Sepio Capital LP now owns 9,907 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $782,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. grew its position in CVS Health by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,342 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of CVS Health from $101.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of CVS Health from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $61.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.24.

CVS Health Price Performance

CVS stock opened at $57.24 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a one year low of $52.77 and a one year high of $83.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $58.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $71.86 billion, a PE ratio of 10.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.52.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $91.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.41 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.53%. CVS Health’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 46.75%.

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.