Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 20,527 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 1,311 shares during the quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Atticus Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in CVS Health by 149.0% in the 4th quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 366 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 111.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 461 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners grew its holdings in CVS Health by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 539 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS traded down $0.81 on Wednesday, hitting $54.93. 13,618,157 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,890,314. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $71.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.09. CVS Health Co. has a twelve month low of $53.70 and a twelve month high of $83.25. The firm has a market cap of $68.96 billion, a PE ratio of 9.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 19th. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.75%.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In related news, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the director now owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,424.40. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on CVS shares. TD Cowen downgraded CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $59.00 in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on CVS Health from $95.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price 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. SVB Leerink reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of CVS Health from $76.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.