LPL Financial LLC Decreases Stock Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

LPL Financial LLC trimmed its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 15.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,079,222 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 190,153 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned 0.09% of CVS Health worth $48,446,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CVS. State Street Corp grew its holdings in CVS Health by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,527,909 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,554,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989,066 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,361,673 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,651,997,000 after buying an additional 461,569 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $880,319,000 after acquiring an additional 6,475,271 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,918,949 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $579,932,000 after acquiring an additional 710,281 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in CVS Health by 34.8% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 11,897,034 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $748,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,071,613 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,625,045.20. The trade was a 320.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $67.59 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 market capitalization of $85.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50-day moving average is $61.83 and its 200 day moving average is $57.60. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $43.56 and a 1 year high of $80.75.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 EPS 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%. On average, research analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CVS. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Edward Jones upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Leerink Partners raised CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.39.

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.