MML Investors Services LLC Reduces Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

MML Investors Services LLC lowered its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 175,200 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 29,096 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in CVS Health were worth $7,865,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC lifted its position in CVS Health by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 6,135 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in CVS Health by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 4,457 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CVS Health by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,706 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Rogco LP increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Rogco LP now owns 6,752 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Finally, Beck Mack & Oliver LLC raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC now owns 20,425 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CVS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of CVS Health from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.83.

CVS Health Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CVS traded down $0.17 on Tuesday, hitting $64.76. 1,835,158 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,786,168. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $81.65 billion, a PE ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $71.45.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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, research analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.11%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio is 72.68%.

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.