Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 1,300 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 64,800 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $3,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CVS. USA Financial Formulas boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. First Community Trust NA grew its stake in CVS Health by 116.2% in the second quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 562 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Steph & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CVS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of CVS Health from $95.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. SVB Leerink reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 price target (down previously from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group cut CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays dropped their price target on CVS Health from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CVS Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.24.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS stock opened at $57.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $58.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.24. CVS Health Co. has a 12 month low of $52.77 and a 12 month high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $91.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.41 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 2.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 7 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.60%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is presently 46.75%.

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.