First Manhattan CO. LLC. Sells 11,896 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. reduced its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 18.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 53,055 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 11,896 shares during the quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC.'s holdings in CVS Health were worth $2,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its position in CVS Health by 255.7% in the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Financial Perspectives Inc lifted its position in CVS Health by 137.5% in the 4th quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 805 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in CVS Health by 112.1% in the 4th quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. now owns 827 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on CVS. Argus set a $77.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CVS Health currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.94.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS Health stock traded down $0.47 on Wednesday, reaching $60.03. The stock had a trading volume of 13,036,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,468,723. The business's 50-day moving average price is $66.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.81. CVS Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.56 and a fifty-two week high of $72.51. The stock has a market cap of $75.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.60.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.63. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. The business had revenue of $94.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.07 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. CVS Health's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CVS Health news, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,625,045.20. This represents a 320.65% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total transaction of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by 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.