CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Sold by Welch & Forbes LLC

Welch & Forbes LLC reduced its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 112,029 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 7,140 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $8,846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,668 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 2,170 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in CVS Health by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 11,727 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $819,000 after buying an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC increased its position in CVS Health by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,898 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its position in CVS Health by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 991,601 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $69,261,000 after acquiring an additional 207,702 shares during the period. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 1.5% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 13,455 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $928,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CVS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen cut shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $59.00 in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America reduced their price objective 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, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of CVS Health from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target (down previously from $90.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on CVS Health from $86.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CVS Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.55.

Insider Activity

In other CVS Health news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total value of $2,267,947.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at $3,059,916.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total value of $2,267,947.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Edward J. Ludwig acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVS traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $55.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 17,144,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,872,880. CVS Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $53.70 and a fifty-two week high of $83.25. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $69.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.38). CVS Health had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.77%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.75%.

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.