Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 6,899 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 115,101 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,899 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $9,088,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Live Oak Investment Partners bought a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Atticus Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in CVS Health by 149.0% during the fourth quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 366 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in CVS Health by 111.5% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 461 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in CVS Health by 400.0% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $69.39 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.63. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $64.41 and a 1 year high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.11. The business 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.99 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 8.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is presently 41.18%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,059,916.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVS has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 price objective for the company. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $83.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CVS Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.44.

CVS Health 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.