Independent Advisor Alliance Sells 6,173 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Independent Advisor Alliance trimmed its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 15.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,945 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 6,173 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,527,909 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,554,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,989,066 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,361,673 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,651,997,000 after purchasing an additional 461,569 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in CVS Health by 1.5% in the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 13,135,308 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $825,948,000 after buying an additional 198,920 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,918,949 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $579,932,000 after buying an additional 710,281 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 11,897,034 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $748,085,000 after acquiring an additional 3,071,613 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 transaction of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at $556,941.90. The trade was a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Edward Jones upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus set a $77.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CVS Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.83.

CVS Health Stock Down 0.2 %

CVS stock opened at $65.63 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a twelve month low of $43.56 and a twelve month high of $80.75. The company has a market cap of $82.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $58.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.00.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued 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 net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. Analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.68%.

About CVS Health

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.