United Asset Strategies Inc. Cuts Stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

United Asset Strategies Inc. lessened its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,129 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 1,088 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in CVS Health by 34.8% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 11,897,034 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $748,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,071,613 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,527,909 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,554,475,000 after buying an additional 1,989,066 shares during the last quarter. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of CVS Health during the 3rd quarter worth $121,987,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in CVS Health by 5,864.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,730,343 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $108,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,701,331 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 1,470.2% during the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 1,396,464 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $87,810,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307,531 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $56.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $51.24 and a 200 day moving average of $56.20. CVS Health Co. has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $80.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.72 billion, a PE ratio of 14.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.59.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $95.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.72 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CVS. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded CVS Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group lifted their price target on CVS Health from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.12.

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.