CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Stake Decreased by Carson Advisory Inc.

Carson Advisory Inc. trimmed its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 25.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,091 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 1,031 shares during the quarter. Carson Advisory Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,162,626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $8,180,295,000 after purchasing an additional 485,744 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,487,238 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,919,159,000 after buying an additional 6,194,441 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,214,296 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $992,442,000 after acquiring an additional 305,564 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 2.2% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,136,920 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $987,041,000 after acquiring an additional 303,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in CVS Health by 2.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,717,825 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $864,821,000 after purchasing an additional 324,391 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other CVS Health news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total transaction of $2,267,947.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at $3,059,916.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on CVS shares. Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Monday, February 26th. SVB Leerink restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of CVS Health from $95.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on CVS Health from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CVS Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.35.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS traded down $1.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $55.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 37,867,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,608,823. CVS Health Co. has a one year low of $53.70 and a one year high of $83.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $73.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.52 billion, a PE ratio of 8.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.86.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 2.33%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. CVS Health’s payout ratio is presently 41.18%.

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.