CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Acquired by United Asset Strategies Inc.

United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 29.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,506 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,181 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CVS. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atticus Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in CVS Health by 149.0% in the 4th quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 366 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in CVS Health by 111.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 461 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. ZRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in CVS Health by 400.0% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on CVS. SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. Barclays started coverage on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HSBC started coverage on shares of CVS Health in a report on Friday, December 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.44.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total transaction of $2,267,947.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,059,916.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $69.03 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.52. CVS Health Co. has a 12 month low of $64.41 and a 12 month high of $83.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $75.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.77.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $93.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.58 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 15.25%. CVS Health’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.99 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 41.18%.

CVS Health 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.