Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC Sells 14,304 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lowered its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 479,014 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 14,304 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $21,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in CVS Health during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc boosted its holdings in shares of 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CVS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Edward Jones upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Argus set a $77.00 price objective on CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays upped their target price on CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.39.

CVS Health Stock Performance

NYSE:CVS opened at $67.13 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. CVS Health Co. has a twelve month low of $43.56 and a twelve month high of $79.98. The company has a fifty day moving average of $62.12 and a 200-day moving average of $57.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.96%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 72.68%.

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.