Empower Advisory Group LLC Trims Stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Empower Advisory Group LLC reduced its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 98.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,516 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 953,562 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 34.8% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 11,897,034 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $748,085,000 after acquiring an additional 3,071,613 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 7,567.7% during the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 2,402,901 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $107,866,000 after acquiring an additional 2,371,563 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 3.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,527,909 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,554,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,989,066 shares during the period. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health during the third quarter worth approximately $121,987,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 5,864.2% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,730,343 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $108,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,701,331 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS opened at $65.47 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.39 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.59. CVS Health Co. has a 1-year low of $43.56 and a 1-year high of $80.75. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $51.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.03.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 10.72%. On average, equities research analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 67.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.00.

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.