Northeast Investment Management Trims Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Northeast Investment Management lessened its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 44.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,334 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 3,455 shares during the quarter. Northeast Investment Management’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in CVS Health by 310.8% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,523,824 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $238,739,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666,029 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in CVS Health by 63.9% during the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 741 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its position in CVS Health by 162.1% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 62,545 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $4,237,000 after acquiring an additional 38,678 shares in the last quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. boosted its position in CVS Health by 228.0% during the 1st quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 820 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in CVS Health by 606.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 203,407 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $13,781,000 after acquiring an additional 174,606 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.5%

CVS opened at $64.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.01. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $72.51. The company has a market capitalization of $81.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

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

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 63.48%.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, Director Guy P. Sansone purchased 1,570 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $63.70 per share, with a total value of $100,009.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 12,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $764,845.90. The trade was a 15.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVS has been the topic of several research reports. Argus set a $77.00 price objective on CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group boosted their price target on CVS Health from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.75.

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.