Erste Asset Management GmbH Cuts Stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Erste Asset Management GmbH lowered its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 83.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,692 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 82,829 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health by 28.7% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 46,938 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,951,000 after buying an additional 10,465 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,434,476 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $90,200,000 after purchasing an additional 66,244 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 8.4% during the third quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 134,523 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $8,459,000 after purchasing an additional 10,453 shares during the period. Hall Laurie J Trustee boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 25,484.4% during the fourth quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 11,513 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 11,468 shares during the period. Finally, B&D White Capital Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $417,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CVS shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group dropped their price target on CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CVS Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.83.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $65.63 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a 1-year low of $43.56 and a 1-year high of $80.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $58.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.98. The company has a market capitalization of $82.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.93, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. As a group, equities analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.05%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.68%.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.