Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 34,642 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lessened its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 897,028 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 34,642 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.07% of CVS Health worth $70,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 43,213 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,017,000 after buying an additional 18,385 shares in the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 991,601 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $69,261,000 after purchasing an additional 207,702 shares in the last quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 50,488 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,525,000 after purchasing an additional 774 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 10,405 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 19,355 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Price Performance

CVS Health stock traded up $0.75 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $55.90. The company had a trading volume of 23,942,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,752,378. The company has a market capitalization of $70.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.56. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $53.70 and a 12-month high of $83.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

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). The firm had revenue of $88.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 2.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.76%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.75%.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other news, Director Edward J. Ludwig acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,424.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total transaction of $2,267,947.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at $3,059,916.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CVS shares. Piper Sandler lifted 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. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price target (down from $90.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group downgraded shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday. SVB Leerink reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 target price (down previously from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.35.

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.