Raymond James & Associates Sells 247,053 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Raymond James & Associates reduced its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 8.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,659,013 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 247,053 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.21% of CVS Health worth $212,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atticus Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health by 149.0% in the fourth quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 366 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas grew its holdings in CVS Health by 573.2% during the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 377 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in CVS Health by 111.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVS has been the subject of several recent research reports. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Barclays began coverage on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on CVS Health from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.44.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $67.18. The stock had a trading volume of 6,396,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,376,818. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.64. CVS Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $64.41 and a fifty-two week high of $83.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.68 billion, a PE ratio of 10.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $1.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were 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 can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About CVS Health

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.