CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Sold by HF Advisory Group LLC

HF Advisory Group LLC trimmed its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 53.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,607 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 7,620 shares during the quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,029 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $899,000 after acquiring an additional 2,262 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at $4,745,000. Sterling Financial Group Inc. raised its position in CVS Health by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,363 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 816.4% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 36,885 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,656,000 after buying an additional 32,860 shares during the period. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,168 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CVS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.71.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $52.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $51.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.34. CVS Health Co. has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $80.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.59.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The business had revenue of $95.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.05%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.51%.

CVS Health 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.