Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC increased its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 213.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,622 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,722 shares during the period. CVS Health comprises approximately 0.1% of Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Widmann Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 1.8% during the third quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 11,506 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC raised its stake in CVS Health by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 6,135 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 4,457 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Rogco LP boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Rogco LP now owns 6,752 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 6,772 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total transaction of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. The trade was a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on CVS shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.83.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $65.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $82.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $56.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.78. CVS Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.56 and a fifty-two week high of $80.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.81.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

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.