Sigma Planning Corp Sells 6,320 Shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)

Sigma Planning Corp lowered its stake in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 28.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,082 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 6,320 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp's holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dodge & Cox grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $3,147,054,000 after purchasing an additional 7,075,209 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $2,739,927,000 after purchasing an additional 12,819,148 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,051,540 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,211,582,000 after purchasing an additional 689,867 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,666,401 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,196,989,000 after purchasing an additional 1,212,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth about $839,574,000. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays set a $79.00 price target on CVS Health and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on CVS Health from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, May 5th. Mizuho raised their price target on CVS Health from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Two research 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.06.

CVS Health Trading Down 0.7%

CVS traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $63.34. 7,351,504 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,754,025. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $64.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.63. CVS Health Corporation has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $72.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.13 billion, a PE ratio of 15.12, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.57.

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

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 22nd. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Guy P. Sansone purchased 1,570 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $63.70 per share, with a total value of $100,009.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $764,845.90. The trade was a 15.04% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.