Sector Gamma AS Cuts Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Sector Gamma AS lessened its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 28.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 217,000 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 85,000 shares during the quarter. CVS Health comprises 3.3% of Sector Gamma AS’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Sector Gamma AS’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $9,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in CVS Health by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,527,909 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,554,475,000 after buying an additional 1,989,066 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,361,673 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,651,997,000 after purchasing an additional 461,569 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 49.3% in the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $880,319,000 after purchasing an additional 6,475,271 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,918,949 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $579,932,000 after purchasing an additional 710,281 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 11,897,034 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $748,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,071,613 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Trading Up 1.2 %

CVS opened at $68.71 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $86.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a PEG 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. CVS Health Co. has a 12 month low of $43.56 and a 12 month high of $80.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $60.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.28.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its 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 return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CVS. TD Cowen lifted their target price on CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group dropped their target price on CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on CVS Health from $60.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.83.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In related news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total transaction of $498,487.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. The trade was a 320.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.