IHT Wealth Management LLC Sells 37,704 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

IHT Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 74.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,745 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 37,704 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC's holdings in CVS Health were worth $572,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 11.2% during the 4th 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 during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings 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 increased its stake in CVS Health by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,051,540 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,211,582,000 after acquiring an additional 689,867 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in CVS Health by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,666,401 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,196,989,000 after buying an additional 1,212,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its position in CVS Health by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $880,319,000 after purchasing an additional 6,475,271 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs upgraded CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.83.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS Health stock traded up $1.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.11. 7,243,643 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,125,879. The business's 50-day moving average is $66.45 and its 200-day moving average is $58.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.35 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $71.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.02%. CVS Health's payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other news, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $556,941.90. The trade was 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 corporate 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.