Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Reduces Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 39.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 440 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 286 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $35,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CVS. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $543,000. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 30,511 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,409,000 after buying an additional 705 shares during the period. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 3,689 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFG Advisory LLC increased its position in CVS Health by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 49,380 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,899,000 after purchasing an additional 2,030 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In related news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total value of $2,267,947.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,059,916.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $87.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on CVS Health from $102.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays assumed coverage on CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.21.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS opened at $79.76 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a 12 month low of $64.41 and a 12 month high of $83.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $100.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.51.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $93.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.58 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 2.33%. CVS Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.99 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 8.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.18%.

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.