Operose Advisors LLC Sells 1,873 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Operose Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 76.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 590 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 1,873 shares during the period. Operose Advisors LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $26,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CVS. Dodge & Cox raised its position in CVS Health by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,147,054,000 after purchasing an additional 7,075,209 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,051,540 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,211,582,000 after buying an additional 689,867 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in CVS Health by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $880,319,000 after buying an additional 6,475,271 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CVS Health in the fourth quarter worth approximately $839,574,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in CVS Health by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,038,089 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $809,730,000 after acquiring an additional 4,173,243 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CVS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Leerink Partners raised CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Mizuho lifted their price target 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, Leerink Partnrs raised CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CVS Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.83.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,941.90. The trade was a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 320.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CVS Health Trading Down 0.6 %

CVS opened at $68.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $86.74 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50 day moving average of $65.67 and a 200-day moving average of $58.63. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $71.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. Equities research analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

CVS Health Company Profile

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.