EP Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 104,918 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 19,416 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $4,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Financial Perspectives Inc lifted its position 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 acquiring 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CVS shares. Leerink Partnrs raised CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of CVS Health from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.81.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. The trade was a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,625,045.20. The trade was a 320.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $67.82 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $72.51. The company has a market cap of $85.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $66.90 and a 200 day moving average of $58.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $94.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.07 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.48%.

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.