Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Has $2.15 Million Stock Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 24.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 26,996 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 5,229 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $2,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CVS. USA Financial Formulas increased its holdings in CVS Health by 573.2% in the fourth quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 377 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in CVS Health in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in CVS Health in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Steph & Co. increased its holdings in CVS Health by 192.0% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 438 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in CVS Health in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CVS traded up $2.35 during trading on Friday, reaching $61.00. 14,553,173 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,959,074. The company has a 50-day moving average of $58.85 and a 200-day moving average of $67.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 0.52. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $52.77 and a 52-week high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.38). The business 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%. CVS Health’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.36%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group downgraded CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Argus decreased their price objective on CVS Health from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on CVS Health from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. SVB Leerink reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 price target (down previously from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on CVS Health from $76.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.05.

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.