Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lessened its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 39.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,635 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 16,194 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Widmann Financial Services Inc. raised its position in CVS Health by 1.8% during the third quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 11,506 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $724,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 6,135 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 4,457 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Rogco LP increased its stake in CVS Health by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Rogco LP now owns 6,752 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

NYSE:CVS opened at $67.54 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $60.92 and its 200-day moving average is $57.40. CVS Health Co. has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $80.75. The company has a market cap of $85.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54.

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

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is 72.68%.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In related news, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,625,045.20. This represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at $556,941.90. This trade represents 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 owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on CVS Health from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Four investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.39.

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.