CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Sold by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 30,777 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 4,534 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth $839,574,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in CVS Health by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,739,927,000 after acquiring an additional 12,819,148 shares during the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 2,998.1% in the 4th quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 11,385,950 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $511,115,000 after purchasing an additional 11,018,438 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,147,054,000 after purchasing an additional 7,075,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 49.3% in 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 buying an additional 6,475,271 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of CVS Health stock opened at $65.40 on Wednesday. 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 $66.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.77. CVS Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.56 and a fifty-two week high of $71.45. The firm has a market cap of $82.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.07%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 value 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. This represents a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group decreased 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 note on Tuesday, February 11th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.83.

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.