Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 250,065 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,366,367 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 250,065 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of CVS Health worth $5,268,576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the third quarter worth about $1,847,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the third quarter worth about $2,795,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the third quarter worth about $942,000. Nwam LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the third quarter worth about $230,000. Finally, StoneX Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 3.5% in the third quarter. StoneX Group Inc. now owns 39,572 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,488,000 after purchasing an additional 1,323 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CVS Health news, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CVS Health Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $67.22 on Monday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $84.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.37, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $60.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.35. CVS Health Co. has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $80.75.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. Sell-side analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVS has been the topic of several research reports. Leerink Partnrs raised CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Argus set a $77.00 price objective on CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.39.

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.