Ieq Capital LLC Cuts Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Ieq Capital LLC lowered its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 23.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,121 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 8,223 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,217,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Perspectives Inc lifted its position in CVS Health by 137.5% during the fourth quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 805 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth $153,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in CVS Health by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,146,907 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $96,375,000 after buying an additional 148,040 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund increased its position in CVS Health by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 42,150 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,892,000 after buying an additional 4,904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 6,806 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS opened at $62.95 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $79.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $56.25. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $80.75.

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

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.23%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 72.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. TD Cowen upped their target price on CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price objective on CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.00.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other news, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by 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.