Great Lakes Advisors LLC Trims Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC cut its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 224,625 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 36,374 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $10,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,318 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $733,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 29,300 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $880,319,000 after acquiring an additional 6,475,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 213.8% during the fourth quarter. Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC now owns 43,622 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,958,000 after acquiring an additional 29,722 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of CVS Health stock opened at $64.88 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $57.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.87. 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 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $80.75. The company has a market cap of $81.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.73, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on CVS. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus set a $77.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.83.

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.