Stifel Financial Corp Decreases Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Stifel Financial Corp reduced its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 749,902 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 131,902 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned about 0.06% of CVS Health worth $33,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth $839,574,000. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,739,927,000 after buying an additional 12,819,148 shares during the period. Davis Selected Advisers lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 11,018,438 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,147,054,000 after acquiring an additional 7,075,209 shares during the period. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in CVS Health by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $880,319,000 after acquiring an additional 6,475,271 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired 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 $2,625,045.20. This represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of CVS Health 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 insiders.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $65.58 on Thursday. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $71.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.92, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.82. 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 results 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, research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Edward Jones raised CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Argus set a $77.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho raised their target price on CVS Health from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.