HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Cuts Stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC decreased its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 18.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,299 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 10,401 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $2,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in CVS Health in the fourth quarter worth about $839,574,000. Davis Selected Advisers grew its position in CVS Health by 2,998.1% during the fourth quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 11,385,950 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $511,115,000 after buying an additional 11,018,438 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in CVS Health by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $880,319,000 after acquiring an additional 6,475,271 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 34.8% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at $116,033,000. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of CVS stock opened at $67.79 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $85.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.76. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $43.56 and a 1 year high of $79.98.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share (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%. Research analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Argus set a $77.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.39.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total transaction of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. The trade was a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health 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.