New Jersey Better Educational Savings Trust Makes New Investment in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

New Jersey Better Educational Savings Trust purchased a new position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,700 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CVS. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 2,859 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 3,378 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC now owns 3,612 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 4,498 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,639 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $87.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.44.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS Health stock traded down $0.45 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $67.32. 8,915,583 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,708,336. The stock has a market cap of $84.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.86. CVS Health Co. has a 52-week low of $64.41 and a 52-week high of $83.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $74.80 and its 200 day moving average is $73.72.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.11. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $93.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.99 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.95%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 41.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total value of $2,267,947.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.