Hudson Portfolio Management LLC Reduces Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Hudson Portfolio Management LLC reduced its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,648 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 905 shares during the period. CVS Health accounts for 1.2% of Hudson Portfolio Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Hudson Portfolio Management LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,241,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $839,574,000. Davis Selected Advisers raised its holdings in CVS Health by 2,998.1% in the fourth quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 11,385,950 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $511,115,000 after purchasing an additional 11,018,438 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in CVS Health by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $880,319,000 after buying an additional 6,475,271 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,038,089 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $809,730,000 after buying an additional 4,173,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth about $116,033,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS stock opened at $69.56 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $43.56 and a 1 year high of $71.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $65.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $87.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. On average, equities analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.82%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 bought at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 39,356 shares in the company, 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CVS. Edward Jones upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus set a $77.00 price target on CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Leerink Partnrs raised CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.28.

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.