First Western Trust Bank Invests $455,000 in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

First Western Trust Bank purchased a new stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 5,767 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $455,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CVS. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in CVS Health by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 31,748 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,507,000 after buying an additional 4,347 shares during the last quarter. Laraway Financial Advisors Inc grew its holdings in CVS Health by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Laraway Financial Advisors Inc now owns 2,625 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the period. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 89,997 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $7,106,000 after buying an additional 4,179 shares in the last quarter. Advantage Trust Co bought a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Loudon Investment Management LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 52.5% during the fourth quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC now owns 22,521 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,778,000 after acquiring an additional 7,753 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on CVS. Bank of America lowered their price target on CVS Health from $95.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of CVS Health from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $87.00 to $58.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Leerink Partnrs lowered CVS Health from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com cut shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on CVS Health from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,424.40. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the company’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 value 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 approximately $3,059,916.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CVS Health Trading Up 1.4 %

CVS stock traded up $0.76 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $55.67. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 10,298,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,874,933. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $53.70 and a 1 year high of $83.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.79, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.81.

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

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were paid 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 4.78%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.75%.

CVS Health 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.