Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 18.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,523,268 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 236,076 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $121,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CVS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter worth about $1,092,040,000. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 33,691,698 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,660,298,000 after buying an additional 10,837,801 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 573.8% in the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 5,553,457 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $442,944,000 after buying an additional 4,729,207 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 306.6% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,046,216 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $240,529,000 after buying an additional 2,297,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP bought a new stake in CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $111,209,000. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. SVB Leerink reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays reduced their price objective on CVS Health from $78.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Baird R W raised CVS Health to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group cut CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $85.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen cut CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $99.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.05.

CVS Health Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of CVS traded down $1.69 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $59.91. 6,421,583 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,709,898. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $52.77 and a 1 year high of $83.25. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $58.48 and its 200-day moving average is $68.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.52.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.38). CVS Health had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The business had revenue of $88.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 46.75%.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other news, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,424.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.