Empowered Funds LLC Buys 72,228 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 52.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 209,682 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 72,228 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $13,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Garland Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 0.3% in the second quarter. Garland Capital Management Inc. now owns 60,810 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,591,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in CVS Health by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC lifted its stake in CVS Health by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 46,637 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,754,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 3.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,268 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 2.5% during the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,458 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $447,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

NYSE:CVS opened at $54.33 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $52.77 and a twelve month high of $83.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $59.41 and a 200-day moving average of $58.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.55.

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

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.90%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 67.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho reduced their price objective on CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of CVS Health from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.00.

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.