Country Trust Bank Acquires 21,754 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Country Trust Bank grew its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 383,339 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,754 shares during the quarter. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $24,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. First Community Trust NA grew its position in CVS Health by 116.2% during the second quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 562 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Steph & Co. lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 192.0% in the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 438 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 11,840.0% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 597 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CVS has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on CVS Health from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. TD Cowen raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.05.

CVS Health Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of CVS opened at $65.88 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.70 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.54. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $52.77 and a 12-month high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.10. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.98% and a return on equity of 12.72%. The company had revenue of $91.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. CVS Health’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.75%.

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.