CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Sold by Becker Capital Management Inc.

Becker Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 24.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,693 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 24,288 shares during the period. Becker Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $3,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CVS. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its stake in CVS Health by 255.7% during the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Financial Perspectives Inc lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 137.5% in the 4th quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 805 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in CVS Health by 112.1% during the 4th quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. now owns 827 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partners raised shares of CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays raised their target price on CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CVS Health currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 acquired at an average cost of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the acquisition, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total transaction of $498,487.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. The trade was a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS opened at $66.65 on Thursday. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.56 and a fifty-two week high of $71.45. The company has a market cap of $84.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.21, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $66.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.80.

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, beating 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.99%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.68%.

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.