Banco Santander S.A. Reduces Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Banco Santander S.A. lessened its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 67,467 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 21,171 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $4,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 132.9% during the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 12,936,388 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $764,023,000 after buying an additional 7,382,931 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 5,864.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,730,343 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $108,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,701,331 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 402.5% during the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 2,005,677 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $118,455,000 after acquiring an additional 1,606,500 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in CVS Health in the first quarter worth $110,816,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 33.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,289,788 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $310,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327,855 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $57.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50-day moving average is $59.20 and its 200 day moving average is $58.60. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $52.71 and a 1 year high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.01. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The firm had revenue of $95.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.72 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. CVS Health’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.66%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is presently 67.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CVS shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 15th. TD Cowen raised CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised CVS Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.28.

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.