Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in CVS Health by 47.9%, now holding 253,427 shares valued at approximately $17.17 million.
• Analysts have mixed reviews for CVS Health, with UBS lowering its price target from $71.00 to $67.00, while Wells Fargo raised its target to $84.00.
• CVS Health announced a quarterly dividend of $0.665 per share, representing an annualized payout of $2.66 and a yield of 4.38%.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 47.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 253,427 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 232,895 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings in CVS Health were worth $17,170,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its stake in CVS Health by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 30,641 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,375,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in CVS Health in the fourth quarter worth approximately $63,000. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. purchased a new stake in CVS Health in the fourth quarter worth approximately $366,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in CVS Health by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,011,087 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $92,047,000 after buying an additional 187,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sava Infond d.o.o. purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $424,000. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CVS shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on CVS Health from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen raised CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on CVS Health from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.82.

CVS Health Stock Up 3.4%

CVS traded up $2.06 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $62.06. The stock had a trading volume of 6,315,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,991,808. The stock's 50 day moving average is $64.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $78.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.57. CVS Health Corporation has a one year low of $43.56 and a one year high of $72.51.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.63. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.59% and a net margin of 1.39%. The firm had revenue of $94.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.07 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.29%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.48%.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, Director Guy P. Sansone acquired 1,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $63.70 per share, with a total value of $100,009.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $764,845.90. This represents a 15.04% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.