Wright Investors Service Inc. Sells 1,925 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Wright Investors Service Inc. reduced its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,317 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 1,925 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $3,420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in CVS Health by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,162,626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $8,180,295,000 after acquiring an additional 485,744 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in CVS Health by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 33,576,388 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,128,984,000 after acquiring an additional 3,311,928 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 29.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,487,238 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,919,159,000 after acquiring an additional 6,194,441 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 103,371.0% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,547,559 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,448,877,000 after acquiring an additional 15,532,533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,425,416,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:CVS traded up $0.63 on Thursday, reaching $69.23. 2,537,937 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,789,963. The company has a market capitalization of $87.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. CVS Health Co. has a 12 month low of $64.41 and a 12 month high of $83.25. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.73.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.11. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The firm had revenue of $93.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.99 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 8.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.18%.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In other news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total value of $2,267,947.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at $3,059,916.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on CVS shares. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of CVS Health from $83.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CVS Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.44.

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.