CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Sold by Argyle Capital Management LLC

Argyle Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,317 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 5,085 shares during the quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CVS. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 3.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,527,909 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,554,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,989,066 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in CVS Health by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,361,673 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,651,997,000 after purchasing an additional 461,569 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 13,135,308 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $825,948,000 after purchasing an additional 198,920 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,208,668 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $767,681,000 after buying an additional 304,386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 34.8% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 11,897,034 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $748,085,000 after buying an additional 3,071,613 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS opened at $64.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.60. CVS Health Co. has a one year low of $43.56 and a one year high of $80.75. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $53.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.40. The company has a market capitalization of $81.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.61.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.12%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 72.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CVS shares. Leerink Partnrs raised CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.