Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 17,579 Shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its stake in CVS Health Corporation by 3.4%, now holding 493,343 shares valued at approximately $33.4 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for CVS Health, with Barclays setting a new target of $80 and Wells Fargo adjusting theirs to $84, reflecting a generally optimistic outlook.
• CVS Health recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.665 per share, yielding 4.2%, with a current payout ratio of 74.3%.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its position in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 3.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 493,343 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 17,579 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in CVS Health were worth $33,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 637 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 77.2% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 1,024 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. Finally, Ball & Co Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CVS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on CVS Health from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen raised CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Bernstein Bank dropped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Three 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.11.

CVS Health Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of CVS stock traded up $0.69 on Friday, hitting $64.27. 441,559 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,026,527. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.58. CVS Health Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $43.56 and a fifty-two week high of $72.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $64.65 and a 200 day moving average of $64.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $98.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.87 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.17% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd were given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio is presently 74.30%.

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.