Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Buys 35,449 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 497,864 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,449 shares during the period. CVS Health makes up approximately 0.8% of Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $31,306,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in CVS Health during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, First Community Trust NA boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 116.2% during the second quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 562 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CVS Health Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $55.56 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.19. CVS Health Co. has a 52-week low of $52.77 and a 52-week high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.01. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The business had revenue of $95.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.72 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.79%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 67.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho dropped their price target on CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Truist Financial raised their price target on CVS Health from $66.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, TD Cowen raised CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.00.

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.