Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Decreases Stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC decreased its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 74.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 55,812 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 158,464 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $2,505,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its stake in CVS Health by 255.7% in the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Financial Perspectives Inc grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 137.5% during the 4th quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 805 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 112.1% during the 4th quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. now owns 827 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wolfe Research increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Edward Jones raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of CVS Health 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 transaction, the director now owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $64.91 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.75. CVS Health Co. has a twelve month low of $43.56 and a twelve month high of $71.45.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.68%.

CVS Health Company 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.