Carret Asset Management LLC Lowers Stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Carret Asset Management LLC lessened its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,085 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 634 shares during the period. CVS Health makes up 1.1% of Carret Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $8,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 1900 Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the third quarter worth about $219,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 22.8% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,993 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $418,000 after buying an additional 1,112 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 21.9% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 17,253 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,205,000 after buying an additional 3,103 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 24.3% in the third quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC now owns 4,205 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 821 shares during the period. Finally, LaFleur & Godfrey LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 1.2% in the third quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 29,806 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,081,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on CVS shares. Barclays started coverage on CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com downgraded CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, SVB Leerink initiated coverage on CVS Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total transaction of $2,267,947.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,059,916.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS stock traded down $0.74 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $67.76. 8,650,023 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,731,002. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $64.41 and a 52 week high of $83.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $74.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.52.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.11. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The company had revenue of $93.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.18%.

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.