Empirical Asset Management LLC Trims Stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Empirical Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 47.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,025 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 3,637 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CVS. First Community Trust NA increased its holdings in CVS Health by 116.2% in the second quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 562 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in CVS Health by 192.0% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 438 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 11,840.0% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 597 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 71.0% during the 2nd quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 595 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of CVS opened at $67.46 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $84.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $59.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.81. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $52.77 and a 12-month high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $91.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.41 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.98% and a return on equity of 12.72%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.21 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of CVS Health from $66.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Barclays raised CVS Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $63.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.26.

About CVS Health

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.