Fernwood Investment Management LLC Sells 8,711 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Fernwood Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 33.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 17,687 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 8,711 shares during the period. Fernwood Investment Management LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 255.7% during the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Financial Perspectives Inc raised its position in CVS Health by 137.5% in the fourth quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 805 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in CVS Health by 112.1% during the fourth quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. now owns 827 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total transaction of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS opened at $67.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. CVS Health Co. has a 12 month low of $43.56 and a 12 month high of $74.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. Research analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Edward Jones raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Argus set a $77.00 target price on CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.39.

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.