Empirical Finance LLC Boosts Stock Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,588 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 7,959 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $2,361,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC increased its stake in CVS Health by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 27,305 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 184,634 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $8,288,000 after buying an additional 15,400 shares during the last quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. raised its stake in CVS Health by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 404,443 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $18,155,000 after acquiring an additional 22,926 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in CVS Health by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 9,630 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 1,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,943 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 2,341 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CVS. TD Cowen upped their target price on CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Edward Jones raised CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.12.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS opened at $53.95 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $67.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.61. CVS Health Co. has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $80.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.99. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.51%.

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.