Hoey Investments Inc. Lowers Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Hoey Investments Inc. cut its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 25.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 600 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Hoey Investments Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $27,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Partners in Financial Planning purchased a new position in CVS Health in the fourth quarter worth approximately $265,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 74.1% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,397,121 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $197,387,000 after purchasing an additional 1,872,144 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 2,848,986 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $127,891,000 after buying an additional 650,832 shares during the last quarter. Allianz SE acquired a new stake in CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at $3,648,000. Finally, Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth about $1,680,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $67.79 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $85.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.52, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. CVS Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.56 and a fifty-two week high of $79.98. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

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

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Edward Jones upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $55.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.39.

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.