CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Stake Lessened by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 74.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,010 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 95,326 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. State Street Corp boosted its position in CVS Health by 3.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,527,909 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $3,554,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989,066 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,361,673 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,651,997,000 after buying an additional 461,569 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its stake in CVS Health by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 13,135,308 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $825,948,000 after buying an additional 198,920 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,918,949 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $579,932,000 after acquiring an additional 710,281 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 34.8% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 11,897,034 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $748,085,000 after acquiring an additional 3,071,613 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company's stock, 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 through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CVS shares. Edward Jones raised shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised CVS Health from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.83.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS stock traded up $1.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $66.34. The company had a trading volume of 10,082,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,965,158. CVS Health Co. has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $80.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $56.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.75. The stock has a market cap of $83.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.12, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.68%.

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.