CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Sold by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. trimmed its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 58,891 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 6,576 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $3,478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Steph & Co. raised its position in CVS Health by 192.0% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 438 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 1.6% during the first quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 1,084,256 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $86,480,000 after buying an additional 16,840 shares in the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A purchased a new position in CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at $151,000. State of Tennessee Treasury Department boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 624,817 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $49,336,000 after acquiring an additional 58,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BOCHK Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,116,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird started coverage on CVS Health in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $61.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of CVS Health from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on CVS Health from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.10.

CVS Health Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of CVS Health stock opened at $57.51 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a 52-week low of $52.77 and a 52-week high of $83.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $58.31 and a 200 day moving average of $62.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $72.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.53.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $91.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.41 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.98% and a return on equity of 12.72%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

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

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.