Sound Shore Management Inc. CT Invests $68.85 Million in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Sound Shore Management Inc. CT purchased a new position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,165,831 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $68,854,000. CVS Health makes up about 2.3% of Sound Shore Management Inc. CT’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CVS. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 48.3% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 8,151 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $654,000 after acquiring an additional 2,653 shares during the period. Allstate Corp grew its stake in CVS Health by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 4,207 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 991,437 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $78,284,000 after acquiring an additional 31,027 shares in the last quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 21,461 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,695,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the period. Finally, TCW Group Inc. bought a new stake in CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at $1,605,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CVS. Baird R W upgraded shares of CVS Health to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on CVS Health from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $61.00 price objective for the company. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CVS Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.10.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS opened at $57.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $72.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $58.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.60. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $52.77 and a 1 year high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $91.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.21 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 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.