Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Reduces Stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P cut its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 61.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 852 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 1,350 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $38,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Davis Selected Advisers boosted its stake 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 boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $880,319,000 after acquiring an additional 6,475,271 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $748,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,071,613 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $116,033,000. Finally, ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its position in 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 valued at $107,866,000 after purchasing an additional 2,371,563 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CVS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Argus set a $77.00 price objective on CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In related news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,625,045.20. The trade was a 320.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of CVS Health stock opened at $67.79 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.76. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $79.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $85.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. Research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.68%.

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.