Persistent Asset Partners Ltd Sells 4,538 Shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)

Key Points

• Persistent Asset Partners Ltd decreased its stake in CVS Health Corporation by 11.7%, selling 4,538 shares, and now holds a total of 34,159 shares valued at approximately $2.31 million.
• Despite the reduction by some investors, 80.66% of CVS's stock is still owned by institutional investors and hedge funds, indicating strong institutional support.
• CVS Health's recent quarterly earnings showed a significant beat, with earnings per share of $1.81, compared to expectations of $1.46, and a revenue increase of 8.4% year-over-year to $98.92 billion.

Persistent Asset Partners Ltd cut its stake in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 11.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,159 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 4,538 shares during the period. CVS Health makes up about 1.9% of Persistent Asset Partners Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd's holdings in CVS Health were worth $2,314,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in CVS Health by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 20,705 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,403,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management raised its holdings in CVS Health by 33.7% in the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 682 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in CVS Health by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its holdings in CVS Health by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 17,114 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in CVS Health by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,930 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other news, Director Guy P. Sansone acquired 1,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $63.70 per share, for a total transaction of $100,009.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 12,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $764,845.90. The trade was a 15.04% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bernstein Bank decreased their target price on CVS Health from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. UBS Group decreased their price target on CVS Health from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird raised 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, Wall Street Zen raised CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.11.

CVS Health Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE CVS opened at $64.91 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $82.32 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.58. The company's 50-day moving average price is $64.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.45. CVS Health Corporation has a 12 month low of $43.56 and a 12 month high of $72.51.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $94.87 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 1.17%. CVS Health's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 22nd were issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 22nd. CVS Health's 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.

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