Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Trims Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc reduced its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 28.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 520,497 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 211,195 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings in CVS Health were worth $23,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CVS Health news, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased 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 approximately $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction 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. The trade was a 47.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CVS Health Stock Down 0.8%

NYSE CVS traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.03. The stock had a trading volume of 13,036,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,468,723. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $43.56 and a 1 year high of $72.51. The stock has a market cap of $75.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $66.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.15. 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 (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $94.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.07 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CVS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus set a $77.00 price target on CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on CVS Health from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on CVS Health from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.94.

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.