GSA Capital Partners LLP Acquires Shares of 12,985 CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 12,985 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $816,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CVS. Capital World Investors boosted its position in CVS Health by 8.0% in the 1st 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 during the period. Capital International Investors boosted 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 period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in 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 worth $1,048,351,000 after purchasing an additional 184,297 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 132.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 12,936,388 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $764,023,000 after purchasing an additional 7,382,931 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,963,508 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $555,406,000 after buying an additional 389,166 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of CVS Health stock opened at $53.19 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $52.71 and a 12-month high of $83.25. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.55.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $95.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.72 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.21 EPS. Analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.00%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CVS. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.44.

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.