CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Stock Holdings Lessened by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lessened its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 510,922 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 150,458 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $22,935,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CVS. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 28.7% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 46,938 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,951,000 after acquiring an additional 10,465 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in CVS Health by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,434,476 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $90,200,000 after purchasing an additional 66,244 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in CVS Health by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 134,523 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $8,459,000 after purchasing an additional 10,453 shares during the last quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 25,484.4% during the fourth quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 11,513 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 11,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B&D White Capital Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $417,000. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $65.63 on Monday. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $80.75. 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 company has a market cap of $82.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.98.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus set a $77.00 target price on CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other news, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This 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 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.