Ancora Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Ancora Advisors LLC lowered its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 76.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,128 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 29,365 shares during the quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC's holdings in CVS Health were worth $410,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at $839,574,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $2,739,927,000 after buying an additional 12,819,148 shares in the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 2,998.1% in the fourth quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 11,385,950 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $511,115,000 after buying an additional 11,018,438 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox grew its stake in CVS Health by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $3,147,054,000 after acquiring an additional 7,075,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in CVS Health by 49.3% in 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. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CVS shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays upped their target price on CVS Health from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on CVS Health from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Argus set a $77.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Three equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.81.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In related news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at $2,625,045.20. The trade was a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CVS Health Trading Down 1.3 %

CVS traded down $0.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $66.98. 6,356,260 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,403,578. The company has a market cap of $84.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.60. 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $66.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.03. CVS Health Co. has a 1-year low of $43.56 and a 1-year high of $72.51.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.63. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. The business had revenue of $94.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health's payout ratio is currently 63.48%.

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.