Optiver Holding B.V. Invests $117,000 in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 2,607 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $117,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CVS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in CVS Health in the fourth quarter worth $839,574,000. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in CVS Health by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,739,927,000 after purchasing an additional 12,819,148 shares during the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers grew its holdings in CVS Health by 2,998.1% in the fourth quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 11,385,950 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $511,115,000 after purchasing an additional 11,018,438 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in CVS Health by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,147,054,000 after purchasing an additional 7,075,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in CVS Health by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $880,319,000 after purchasing an additional 6,475,271 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value of $498,487.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS stock opened at $64.91 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $81.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. CVS Health Co. has a twelve month low of $43.56 and a twelve month high of $71.45.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus set a $77.00 target price on CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Leerink Partners raised CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.83.

CVS Health 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.