Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Lowers Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp reduced its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 18.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 170,305 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 37,995 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $7,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 28.7% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 46,938 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,951,000 after acquiring an additional 10,465 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in CVS Health by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,434,476 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $90,200,000 after purchasing an additional 66,244 shares in the last quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 25,484.4% in the 4th quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 11,513 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 11,468 shares during the period. B&D White Capital Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth about $417,000. Finally, Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC now owns 7,302 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $334,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Trading Down 5.9 %

NYSE CVS opened at $63.54 on Monday. CVS Health Co. has a one year low of $43.56 and a one year high of $74.85. The firm has a market cap of $80.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $63.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.81.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 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%. Analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.19%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on CVS shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Argus set a $77.00 price target on CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Edward Jones upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.39.

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.