Abacus Planning Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. cut its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,282 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 264 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CVS. Financial Perspectives Inc increased its stake in CVS Health by 137.5% in the fourth quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 805 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at $153,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its stake in CVS Health by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,146,907 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $96,375,000 after purchasing an additional 148,040 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its stake in CVS Health by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 42,150 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,892,000 after purchasing an additional 4,904 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC increased its stake in CVS Health by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 6,806 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $66.35 on Thursday. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $80.75. The company has a market capitalization of $83.65 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $51.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.12.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. Equities analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 72.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on CVS shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Four 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.00.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other news, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.