Advisory Services Network LLC Decreases Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Advisory Services Network LLC lowered its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 3.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,687 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 3,106 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $6,276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,696,285 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $9,293,299,000 after acquiring an additional 533,659 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in CVS Health by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,544,702 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,201,410,000 after purchasing an additional 119,631 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in CVS Health by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 33,691,698 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,660,298,000 after purchasing an additional 10,837,801 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth $1,092,040,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in CVS Health by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,950,289 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $993,351,000 after purchasing an additional 232,464 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Edward J. Ludwig acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was purchased 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,165,424.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. TD Cowen cut shares of 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 research report on Tuesday, May 7th. SVB Leerink restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down previously from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $61.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $78.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.05.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE CVS traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $58.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,728,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,752,249. The business’s 50 day moving average is $58.14 and its 200-day moving average is $69.03. The company has a market cap of $73.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.26, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.52. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $52.77 and a 52 week high of $83.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.38). The firm had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.33 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 7.02 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.56%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 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.