Beddow Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Beddow Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 15.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,260 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 7,250 shares during the period. Beddow Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Davis Selected Advisers increased its position in CVS Health by 2,998.1% during the 4th quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 11,385,950 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $511,115,000 after purchasing an additional 11,018,438 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $880,319,000 after buying an additional 6,475,271 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 11,897,034 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $748,085,000 after buying an additional 3,071,613 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $116,033,000. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 7,567.7% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 2,402,901 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $107,866,000 after buying an additional 2,371,563 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS opened at $67.22 on Friday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $60.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.34. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $43.56 and a 1 year high of $80.75. The stock has a market cap of $84.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. 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 is presently 72.68%.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In other news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total transaction of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,941.90. This 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 bought 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CVS shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Edward Jones raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Leerink Partners raised shares of CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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.