Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,361,673 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 461,569 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.09% of CVS Health worth $1,651,997,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 410,001 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $25,781,000 after buying an additional 36,132 shares during the last quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 43.8% during the third quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 122,682 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $7,125,000 after purchasing an additional 37,395 shares in the last quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 8.4% during the third quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 134,523 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $8,459,000 after purchasing an additional 10,453 shares in the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the second quarter valued at approximately $57,584,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 5.7% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 448,323 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,191,000 after purchasing an additional 24,285 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Down 1.6 %

CVS Health stock opened at $55.15 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $69.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.80. CVS Health Co. has a one year low of $52.71 and a one year high of $83.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.21 and a 200 day moving average of $58.78.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $95.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.72 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. CVS Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on CVS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on CVS Health from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised CVS Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $66.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 target price (down from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.50.

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.