Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV Has $6.97 Million Stock Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV cut its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 156,570 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 1,049 shares during the quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $6,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at $839,574,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in CVS Health by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,739,927,000 after buying an additional 12,819,148 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 11,018,438 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,147,054,000 after acquiring an additional 7,075,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in CVS Health by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $880,319,000 after acquiring an additional 6,475,271 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Leerink Partners raised CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on CVS Health from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $84.00 target price (up previously from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.94.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $60.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $76.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.60. CVS Health Co. has a 12 month low of $43.56 and a 12 month high of $72.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $66.62 and a 200-day moving average of $59.16.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $94.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.07 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.40%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 63.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.70 per share, with a total value 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 trade represents a 320.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

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.