CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Sold by Argent Trust Co

Argent Trust Co reduced its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 22.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,318 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 13,095 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co's holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,989,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its stake in CVS Health by 255.7% in the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Financial Perspectives Inc grew its position in CVS Health by 137.5% during the 4th quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 805 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other news, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at $2,625,045.20. This represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price 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. Mizuho increased their price target on CVS Health from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.83.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.4 %

CVS traded up $0.28 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $69.20. 3,940,511 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,336,367. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $65.67 and a 200 day moving average of $58.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $71.45. The firm has a market cap of $87.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. Analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.68%.

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.