Beaton Management Co. Inc. Reduces Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Beaton Management Co. Inc. reduced its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 21.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,911 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 2,471 shares during the period. CVS Health makes up approximately 2.0% of Beaton Management Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Beaton Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $4,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 255.7% in the fourth quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in CVS Health in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health during the third quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Price Performance

NYSE CVS opened at $65.71 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $80.75. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $51.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.84 billion, a PE ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.61.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 10.72%. As a group, equities analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on CVS. Mizuho reduced their target price on CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Leerink Partners upgraded CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group reduced their price target on CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.28.

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.