CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Stock Position Cut by Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC

Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC trimmed its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,449 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $748,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,071,613 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its position in CVS Health by 7,567.7% in the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 2,402,901 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $107,866,000 after buying an additional 2,371,563 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 3.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,527,909 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,554,475,000 after buying an additional 1,989,066 shares in the last quarter. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the 3rd quarter valued at $121,987,000. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 1,470.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 1,396,464 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $87,810,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307,531 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CVS shares. Barclays increased their price target on CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Argus set a $77.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Edward Jones raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:CVS opened at $65.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $83.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $54.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.46. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $80.75.

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

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is 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.