Fernwood Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Fernwood Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 33.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,687 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 8,711 shares during the quarter. Fernwood Investment Management LLC's holdings in CVS Health were worth $794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $839,574,000. Davis Selected Advisers increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 2,998.1% in the fourth quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 11,385,950 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $511,115,000 after purchasing an additional 11,018,438 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $880,319,000 after buying an additional 6,475,271 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 18,038,089 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $809,730,000 after acquiring an additional 4,173,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in CVS Health in the fourth quarter worth $116,033,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $69.14. 2,849,179 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,731,654. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. CVS Health Co. has a 1-year low of $43.56 and a 1-year high of $71.66. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $65.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.51. 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 (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on CVS Health from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Argus set a $77.00 target price on CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays boosted their price target on CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of CVS Health from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Edward Jones raised shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.28.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In related news, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased 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 owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the company'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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. The trade was 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.

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.