CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Sold by Schroder Investment Management Group

Schroder Investment Management Group trimmed its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 138,494 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 4,949 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $6,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allianz SE purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth about $3,648,000. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,680,000. DnB Asset Management AS lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 219,374 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $9,848,000 after acquiring an additional 11,483 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,494,378 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $67,083,000 after purchasing an additional 51,652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at $3,351,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Trading Down 5.9 %

CVS opened at $63.54 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $75.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.01. The firm has a market cap of $80.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. On average, equities analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CVS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CVS Health currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.39.

Insider Activity

In other CVS Health news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.