Platinum Investment Management Ltd. Buys New Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Platinum Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,980 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $89,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. North Forty Two & Co. bought a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth $354,000. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 92.1% in the 4th quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 34,125 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,518,000 after buying an additional 16,365 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 188,834 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $8,477,000 after buying an additional 4,585 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth about $1,914,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC raised its stake in CVS Health by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 36,227 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,606,000 after acquiring an additional 784 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Up 1.3 %

CVS stock opened at $67.49 on Wednesday. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $80.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $85.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.12.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued 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 3.94%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CVS shares. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Four research 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,625,045.20. The trade was a 320.65 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.