Moors & Cabot Inc. Cuts Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Moors & Cabot Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 26.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,168 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 37,746 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $4,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in CVS Health in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its stake in CVS Health by 255.7% in the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc increased its stake in CVS Health by 137.5% in the 4th quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 805 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of CVS opened at $64.98 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.83. CVS Health Co. has a twelve month low of $43.56 and a twelve month high of $80.75.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays increased their target price on CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com upgraded CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value 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 trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. 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.