Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Sells 6,132 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC trimmed its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 27.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,249 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 6,132 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in CVS Health by 5.2% in the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 82,922 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $6,614,000 after purchasing an additional 4,132 shares in the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 11,237 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $896,000 after buying an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 109.9% during the 1st quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC now owns 7,447 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 3,899 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the 1st quarter worth approximately $62,454,000. Finally, Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in CVS Health by 1.9% in the first quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 116,942 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $9,327,000 after acquiring an additional 2,180 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on CVS Health from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $85.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

CVS Health Stock Performance

NYSE:CVS opened at $54.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.80. CVS Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $52.77 and a fifty-two week high of $83.25. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.88. The company has a market capitalization of $68.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.55.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $95.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.72 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 10.72%. CVS Health’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.21 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.44 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.90%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 67.51%.

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.