Bailard Inc. Reduces Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Bailard Inc. decreased its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,799 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 302 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in CVS Health by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 410,001 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $25,781,000 after acquiring an additional 36,132 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 46,938 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,951,000 after purchasing an additional 10,465 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 worth $90,200,000 after purchasing an additional 66,244 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in CVS Health by 8.4% during 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 buying an additional 10,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hall Laurie J Trustee increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 25,484.4% during the fourth quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 11,513 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 11,468 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $64.26 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $55.14 and its 200 day moving average is $56.58. 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. The stock has a market cap of $81.01 billion, a PE ratio of 17.56, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.61.

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, 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 anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 72.68%.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Leerink Partners raised shares of CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on CVS Health from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on CVS Health from $60.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CVS Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.83.

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.