Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Decreases Stock Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd decreased its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 78.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,740 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 132,634 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its stake in CVS Health by 255.7% during the fourth quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on CVS shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS stock opened at $63.65 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.39, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.61. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $43.56 and a 1 year high of $80.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $53.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.29.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. On average, research analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.