Northern Financial Advisors Inc Purchases 3,113 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Northern Financial Advisors Inc raised its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 22.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 16,738 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,113 shares during the quarter. CVS Health accounts for approximately 1.1% of Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CVS. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 2,859 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC increased its position in CVS Health by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 3,378 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC now owns 3,612 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $285,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. WealthShield Partners LLC boosted its position in CVS Health by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 4,498 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,639 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other CVS Health news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of CVS Health 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,059,916.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Edward J. Ludwig acquired 1,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,424.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CVS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. TD Cowen cut CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $59.00 in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. SVB Leerink reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down previously from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Leerink Partnrs downgraded CVS Health from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Nine investment 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, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.55.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS stock traded down $0.55 on Wednesday, reaching $55.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,899,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,804,591. The company has a market capitalization of $69.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $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. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $53.70 and a 1 year high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 19th. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.75%.

About CVS Health

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.