Benjamin Edwards Inc. Lowers Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,628 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 7,209 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 255.7% during the fourth quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Financial Perspectives Inc grew its stake in CVS Health by 137.5% in the fourth quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 805 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in CVS Health by 112.1% in the fourth quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. now owns 827 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total transaction of $498,487.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

NYSE CVS opened at $66.79 on Thursday. CVS Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.56 and a fifty-two week high of $72.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.91.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $94.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.07 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Edward Jones raised CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $84.00 target price (up from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.81.

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.