Bellevue Group AG Lowers Stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Bellevue Group AG cut its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 30.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 22,066 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 9,437 shares during the quarter. Bellevue Group AG’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,760,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. USA Financial Formulas boosted its position in CVS Health by 573.2% during the fourth quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 377 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Steph & Co. boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 192.0% in the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 438 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other news, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CVS shares. SVB Leerink restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays cut their target price on shares of CVS Health from $78.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Argus cut their target price on shares of CVS Health from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. UBS Group downgraded shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of CVS Health from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.05.

CVS Health Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:CVS traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $61.62. The company had a trading volume of 3,556,830 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,554,394. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $58.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.52. CVS Health Co. has a one year low of $52.77 and a one year high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.38). CVS Health had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The business had revenue of $88.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.32%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is 46.75%.

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.