Simmons Bank Reduces Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Simmons Bank cut its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 23.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,754 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 4,571 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CVS. Atticus Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 149.0% during the fourth quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 366 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 111.5% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 461 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in CVS Health by 400.0% during the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Coston McIsaac & Partners lifted its position in CVS Health by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 539 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other news, Director Edward J. Ludwig purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Edward J. Ludwig purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total transaction of $2,267,947.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $55.74. 17,144,275 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,872,880. CVS Health Co. has a 1-year low of $53.70 and a 1-year high of $83.25. The stock has a market cap of $69.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $71.95 and a 200-day moving average of $73.09.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.38). CVS Health had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The business had revenue of $88.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.77%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. SVB Leerink restated a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 target price (down from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price (down from $90.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.55.

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.