Commerce Bank Lowers Stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Commerce Bank lessened its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 37.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,594 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 24,708 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank's holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,822,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 255.7% during the fourth quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Financial Perspectives Inc increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 137.5% during the fourth quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 805 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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 1.22% of the company's stock.

CVS Health Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of CVS Health stock traded down $0.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $65.30. 5,020,541 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,841,771. The stock has a market cap of $82.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $66.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.77. 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 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $71.45.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CVS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Argus set a $77.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.83.

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.