Bridgewater Associates LP Lowers Stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Bridgewater Associates LP trimmed its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 39.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 754,152 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 489,414 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned approximately 0.06% of CVS Health worth $47,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in CVS Health in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in CVS Health during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health in the third quarter worth $32,000. First Community Trust NA raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 116.2% in the second quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 562 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in CVS Health in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS stock opened at $59.02 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50 day moving average of $59.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.69. The company has a market cap of $74.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.55. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $52.71 and a 52 week high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The firm had revenue of $95.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders 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 4.51%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com cut CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $67.00 price target (down from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.33.

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.