CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Sold by Symmetry Partners LLC

Symmetry Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 11.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,795 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 1,002 shares during the period. Symmetry Partners LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Riverpoint Wealth Management Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at $218,000. Canoe Financial LP grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 95.1% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 1,762,629 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $139,177,000 after buying an additional 859,134 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management raised its holdings in CVS Health by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 66,322 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $5,237,000 after acquiring an additional 15,548 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 192.0% during 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, Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 17,856 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,901 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CVS shares. Baird R W raised CVS Health to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $61.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on CVS Health from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group downgraded CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $85.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.19.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS Health stock traded down $0.74 during trading on Friday, hitting $57.11. 8,345,205 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,546,901. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.52. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $52.77 and a fifty-two week high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.10. CVS Health had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business had revenue of $91.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 46.75%.

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.