Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Buys 24,472 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 16.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 169,307 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 24,472 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $10,646,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 8.0% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 43,776,874 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,491,643,000 after buying an additional 3,232,172 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 12.5% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,917,923 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,024,334,000 after purchasing an additional 4,226,225 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 1.4% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,143,822 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,048,351,000 after purchasing an additional 184,297 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 132.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 7,382,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 5.9% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,963,508 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $555,406,000 after purchasing an additional 389,166 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS Health stock opened at $60.35 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.54. CVS Health Co. has a 1-year low of $52.77 and a 1-year high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $91.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.41 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.98% and a return on equity of 12.72%. CVS Health’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.41%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on CVS. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $66.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays upgraded shares of CVS Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $63.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.26.

CVS Health Company Profile

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.