Amara Financial LLC. Invests $354,000 in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Amara Financial LLC. bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,632 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $354,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $764,023,000 after buying an additional 7,382,931 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in CVS Health by 12.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 4,226,225 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 8.0% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 43,776,874 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,491,643,000 after acquiring an additional 3,232,172 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 5,864.2% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,730,343 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $108,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,701,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in CVS Health by 402.5% during the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 2,005,677 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $118,455,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Up 5.4 %

Shares of CVS opened at $56.08 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. CVS Health Co. has a 52-week low of $52.71 and a 52-week high of $83.25. The company has a market cap of $70.57 billion, a PE ratio of 14.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $59.19 and a 200 day moving average of $58.60.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The firm had revenue of $95.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.74%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 67.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised CVS Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $66.00 in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.78.

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.