CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Sold by Sandy Spring Bank

Sandy Spring Bank trimmed its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 23.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,648 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 12,212 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 46,938 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,951,000 after purchasing an additional 10,465 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,434,476 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $90,200,000 after purchasing an additional 66,244 shares in the last quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 134,523 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $8,459,000 after purchasing an additional 10,453 shares in the last quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 25,484.4% in the 4th quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 11,513 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 11,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, B&D White Capital Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $417,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at $2,625,045.20. This represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays boosted their price target 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CVS Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.83.

CVS Health Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:CVS opened at $68.71 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $43.56 and a 1 year high of $80.75. The stock has a market cap of $86.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a fifty day moving average of $60.22 and a 200-day moving average of $57.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.81.

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

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.87%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.