Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 4,010 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 43,651 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 4,010 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $3,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CVS. Live Oak Investment Partners bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Atticus Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 149.0% in the fourth 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 period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 111.5% in the third 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 period. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in CVS Health in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in CVS Health by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on CVS. SVB Leerink began coverage on CVS Health in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. HSBC began coverage on CVS Health in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com downgraded CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on CVS Health from $83.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.44.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In related news, 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CVS Health Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of CVS Health stock traded up $0.33 on Tuesday, hitting $69.29. The stock had a trading volume of 7,164,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,905,079. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $75.78 and a 200 day moving average of $73.78. CVS Health Co. has a twelve month low of $64.41 and a twelve month high of $83.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.86, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.52.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.11. CVS Health had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 2.33%. The company had revenue of $93.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 8.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. CVS Health’s payout ratio is presently 41.18%.

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.