Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stock Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 28.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,718 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,161 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in CVS Health by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,696,285 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $9,293,299,000 after acquiring an additional 533,659 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in 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. Capital International Investors grew its position in CVS Health by 12.5% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,917,923 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,024,334,000 after acquiring an additional 4,226,225 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in CVS Health in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,092,040,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 184,297 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Baird R W upgraded CVS Health to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on CVS Health from $101.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on CVS Health from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.10.

CVS Health Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE CVS opened at $57.98 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $58.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.17. CVS Health Co. has a 12 month low of $52.77 and a 12 month high of $83.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $72.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.53.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $91.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.41 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 1.98%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.21 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.59%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.75%.

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.