CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Stock Holdings Lowered by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV lowered its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 148,447 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 20,818 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $6,664,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CVS. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in CVS Health in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in CVS Health in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in CVS Health in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CVS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 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. Wolfe Research boosted their price objective on CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Edward Jones upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.00.

CVS Health Trading Down 2.6 %

NYSE:CVS opened at $63.42 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $52.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.23. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $80.75. The company has a market capitalization of $79.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.61. 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 data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.