Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Lowers Stock Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 56.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 857,795 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 1,134,375 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.07% of CVS Health worth $38,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health by 255.7% in the fourth quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in CVS Health during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on CVS Health from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised CVS Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $60.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of CVS Health from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays reduced their target price on CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.71.

CVS Health Price Performance

NYSE CVS opened at $52.01 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $80.75. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.59.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.01. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The company had revenue of $95.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.21 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 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.