Stack Financial Management Inc Sells 4,070 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Stack Financial Management Inc decreased its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 126,778 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 4,070 shares during the period. Stack Financial Management Inc’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $10,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CVS. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 2,859 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 3,378 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC now owns 3,612 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 4,498 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,639 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CVS. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Barclays began coverage on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of CVS Health from $83.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.44.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVS traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $67.24. 2,661,156 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,606,339. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $64.41 and a 52 week high of $83.25. The company has a market cap of $84.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.67.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.11. CVS Health had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 2.33%. The company had revenue of $93.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.99 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total value of $2,267,947.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.