CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 823,413 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 16,166 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $36,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in CVS Health by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 46,938 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,951,000 after purchasing an additional 10,465 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,434,476 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $90,200,000 after acquiring an additional 66,244 shares in the last quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 25,484.4% during the 4th quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 11,513 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $517,000 after acquiring an additional 11,468 shares in the last quarter. B&D White Capital Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at $417,000. Finally, TOMS Capital Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in CVS Health during the 3rd quarter worth $121,987,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total transaction of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. The trade was a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Edward Jones upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CVS Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.39.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS stock opened at $66.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $83.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 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.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 72.68%.

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.