CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Sold by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC cut its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 131,434 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 5,651 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $10,378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,148,000. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $246,000. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 44,720 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,531,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in CVS Health by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 16,880 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management raised its holdings in CVS Health by 68.0% in the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 107,301 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $8,472,000 after acquiring an additional 43,426 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In other news, Director Edward J. Ludwig acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,424.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of CVS traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $56.31. The stock had a trading volume of 9,003,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,770,115. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.18. The company has a market cap of $70.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.87, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. CVS Health Co. has a 1-year low of $53.70 and a 1-year high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.38). CVS Health had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business had revenue of $88.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.72%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 46.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered CVS Health from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $87.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $76.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on CVS Health from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.55.

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.