Lincoln National Corp Lowers Stock Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Lincoln National Corp trimmed its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,913 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 2,189 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $2,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in CVS Health by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 13,455 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $928,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 27,311 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,753 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 5,829 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in CVS Health by 0.6% during the third quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 84,877 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $5,926,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gratus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in CVS Health in the 3rd quarter valued at about $305,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CVS has been the subject of several research reports. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price target (down previously from $90.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. TD Cowen cut shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $59.00 in a report on Tuesday. SVB Leerink reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 price target (down from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CVS Health news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total value of $2,267,947.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total transaction of $2,267,947.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,059,916.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,424.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CVS Health Price Performance

NYSE:CVS traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $55.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,183,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,776,579. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $71.95 and a 200-day moving average of $73.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $69.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. CVS Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $53.70 and a fifty-two week high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.38). CVS Health had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company had revenue of $88.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. CVS Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, 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 4.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.75%.

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.