Financial Counselors Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Financial Counselors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 85,196 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 5,650 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $3,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CVS. Widmann Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 1.8% during the third quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 11,506 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 6,135 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 4,457 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in CVS Health by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,706 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rogco LP lifted its position in CVS Health by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Rogco LP now owns 6,752 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at $2,625,045.20. The trade was a 320.65 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CVS Health Trading Up 1.0 %

CVS Health stock opened at $67.16 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $84.68 billion, a PE ratio of 18.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.53. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $80.75.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CVS shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Edward Jones raised CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Leerink Partners raised shares of CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CVS Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.39.

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.