Welch & Forbes LLC Reduces Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Welch & Forbes LLC decreased its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 112,029 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 7,140 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $8,846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its stake in CVS Health by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 2,859 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 3,378 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in CVS Health by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC now owns 3,612 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 4,498 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,639 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of CVS Health from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Bank of America lowered their price target on CVS Health from $95.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho decreased their target price on CVS Health from $86.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. TD Cowen downgraded CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $59.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In related news, Director Edward J. Ludwig acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Edward J. Ludwig purchased 1,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,424.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at $3,059,916.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CVS Health Stock Performance

NYSE CVS traded down $0.23 on Tuesday, reaching $55.74. 17,144,275 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,872,880. CVS Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $53.70 and a fifty-two week high of $83.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $69.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $71.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.09.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.38). The company had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.77%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.75%.

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.