Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Reduces Stock Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC reduced its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,683 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 973 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth about $1,092,040,000. Capital International Investors raised its stake in CVS Health by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 33,691,698 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,660,298,000 after buying an additional 10,837,801 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 573.8% during the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 5,553,457 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $442,944,000 after buying an additional 4,729,207 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 43,776,874 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,491,643,000 after acquiring an additional 3,232,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 306.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,046,216 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $240,529,000 after acquiring an additional 2,297,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $57.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,795,392 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,149,400. CVS Health Co. has a twelve month low of $52.77 and a twelve month high of $83.25. The stock has a market cap of $71.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.01, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.71. 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 (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.10. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The business had revenue of $91.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.21 earnings per share. CVS Health’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.66%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on CVS. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 target price (down from $90.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Baird R W raised CVS Health to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen downgraded CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on CVS Health from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CVS Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.24.

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.