Ethic Inc. Sells 15,035 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Ethic Inc. lessened its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 23.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,997 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 15,035 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $2,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth $839,574,000. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,739,927,000 after purchasing an additional 12,819,148 shares during the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 2,998.1% during the fourth quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 11,385,950 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $511,115,000 after acquiring an additional 11,018,438 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox boosted its position in CVS Health by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,147,054,000 after purchasing an additional 7,075,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $880,319,000 after purchasing an additional 6,475,271 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS Health stock opened at $66.98 on Monday. CVS Health Co. has a 1-year low of $43.56 and a 1-year high of $72.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.73 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.06.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $94.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.07 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CVS. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Argus set a $77.00 price objective on CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Leerink Partners upgraded CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.81.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In other news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of CVS Health 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. The trade was a 47.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of CVS Health 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 purchase, the director now owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,625,045.20. The trade was a 320.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.