Simplify Asset Management Inc. Buys Shares of 9,114 CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Simplify Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 9,114 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $409,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Widmann Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 11,506 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $724,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 6,135 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 4,457 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Rogco LP grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Rogco LP now owns 6,752 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,532 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Argus set a $77.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS stock opened at $67.22 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $57.35. CVS Health Co. has a 12 month low of $43.56 and a 12 month high of $80.75. The company has a market capitalization of $84.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.68%.

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.