Montag A & Associates Inc. Cuts Stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Montag A & Associates Inc. cut its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,376 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 3,386 shares during the quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $2,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,162,626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $8,180,295,000 after buying an additional 485,744 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in CVS Health by 29.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,487,238 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,919,159,000 after purchasing an additional 6,194,441 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 2.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,214,296 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $992,442,000 after purchasing an additional 305,564 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 2.2% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,136,920 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $987,041,000 after buying an additional 303,512 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in CVS Health by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,950,289 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $993,351,000 after buying an additional 232,464 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

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 transaction of $2,267,947.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 is available at this link. In other news, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,165,424.40. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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

Shares of NYSE:CVS traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $55.67. 10,298,162 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,874,933. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $53.70 and a 52 week high of $83.25. The firm has a market cap of $69.89 billion, a PE ratio of 9.79, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $71.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). CVS Health had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 2.03%. The firm had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.33 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 19th. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on CVS. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on CVS Health from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. 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. Leerink Partnrs lowered shares of CVS Health from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on CVS Health from $78.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.75.

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.