New Hampshire Trust Decreases Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

New Hampshire Trust cut its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 25.3% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,982 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 1,350 shares during the quarter. New Hampshire Trust’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in CVS Health during the first quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Somerset Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the first quarter worth approximately $280,000. Lantz Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the first quarter worth approximately $230,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 34.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 10,325 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $699,000 after buying an additional 2,663 shares during the period. Finally, First County Bank CT purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the first quarter worth approximately $210,000. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $63.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.95 billion, a PE ratio of 17.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.64. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $72.51.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $94.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.07 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.16%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CVS. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Mizuho increased their price target on CVS Health from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial increased their price target on CVS Health from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In related news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

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.