Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Trims Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC lowered its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,527 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 1,311 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 29.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,487,238 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,919,159,000 after buying an additional 6,194,441 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 8,697.2% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,322,129 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $104,395,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307,100 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 49.9% in the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,095,978 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $146,341,000 after purchasing an additional 698,054 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in CVS Health by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,513,230 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $435,325,000 after buying an additional 616,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in CVS Health in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,379,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE CVS traded down $0.81 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $54.93. 13,618,157 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,890,314. The company has a market cap of $68.96 billion, a PE ratio of 9.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.61. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $53.70 and a 52 week high of $83.25. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.09.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 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 firm had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.84%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 46.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 price of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Edward J. Ludwig purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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 company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on CVS. 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 research note on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. UBS Group lowered shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of CVS Health from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target (down from $90.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.67.

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.