CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Holdings Cut by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP cut its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 654,203 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 119,390 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.05% of CVS Health worth $29,367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CVS. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its position in CVS Health by 255.7% in the fourth 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 fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in CVS Health in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc grew its position in CVS Health by 137.5% in the 4th quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 805 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other CVS Health news, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the firm’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 value of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at $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.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS stock opened at $67.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $84.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.34, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.60. CVS Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.56 and a fifty-two week high of $79.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $62.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.67.

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

CVS Health Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CVS shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Leerink Partners raised CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CVS Health currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.39.

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.