Altshuler Shaham Ltd Has $45,000 Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Altshuler Shaham Ltd reduced its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 25.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 570 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 197 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $45,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CVS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,162,626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $8,180,295,000 after purchasing an additional 485,744 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 29.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,487,238 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,919,159,000 after purchasing an additional 6,194,441 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 2.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,214,296 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $992,442,000 after acquiring an additional 305,564 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 2.2% during 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 during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,950,289 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $993,351,000 after acquiring an additional 232,464 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Trading Down 1.5 %

CVS stock traded down $0.81 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $54.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,618,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,890,314. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $53.70 and a 52 week high of $83.25. The stock has a market cap of $68.96 billion, a PE ratio of 9.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.09.

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

CVS Health Announces Dividend

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 4.84%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Edward J. Ludwig acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of CVS Health from $76.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of CVS Health from $95.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target (down from $90.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Argus cut their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.67.

CVS Health Company 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.