Westchester Capital Management Inc. Sells 3,359 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Westchester Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 119,327 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 3,359 shares during the quarter. CVS Health accounts for about 1.3% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $5,357,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,318 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $733,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 29,300 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $880,319,000 after purchasing an additional 6,475,271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 213.8% during the 4th quarter. Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC now owns 43,622 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,958,000 after purchasing an additional 29,722 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CVS Health Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE CVS opened at $64.98 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $43.56 and a twelve month high of $80.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $57.24 and its 200 day moving average is $56.83.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. Research 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 Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In other news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at $556,941.90. The trade was a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. The trade was a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen increased their target price on CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Argus set a $77.00 target price on CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Leerink Partners upgraded CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $55.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.83.

CVS Health 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.