CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Stock Position Lowered by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC trimmed its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 517,650 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 24,800 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $30,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Steph & Co. lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 192.0% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 438 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CVS. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $61.00 target price for the company. Baird R W raised CVS Health to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on CVS Health from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CVS Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.10.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS Health stock opened at $57.51 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $58.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.52. CVS Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $52.77 and a fifty-two week high of $83.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $72.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.53.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.10. CVS Health had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 1.98%. The business had revenue of $91.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.41 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.63%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.75%.

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.