Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $3.08 Million Holdings in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. significantly reduced its stake in CVS Health by 84.1%, now holding 45,449 shares worth approximately $3.08 million after selling 239,729 shares in the first quarter.
• CVS Health reported earnings of $1.81 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with revenues of $98.92 billion, surpassing analyst estimates by $4.05 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.665 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.3% and a dividend payout ratio of 74.3%.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 84.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 45,449 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 239,729 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in CVS Health were worth $3,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of 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. PARK CIRCLE Co raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. PARK CIRCLE Co now owns 1,000 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 77.2% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 1,024 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CVS shares. Bernstein Bank dropped their price objective 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. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, May 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.11.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $62.52 on Friday. CVS Health Corporation has a 12 month low of $43.56 and a 12 month high of $72.51. The company's 50-day moving average price is $64.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $79.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.58.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $98.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd were paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 22nd. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.30%.

Insider Activity

In other CVS Health news, Director Guy P. Sansone bought 1,570 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $63.70 per share, with a total value of $100,009.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 12,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $764,845.90. This trade represents a 15.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

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.

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