CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 19.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,202,904 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 2,178,890 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.73% of CVS Health worth $413,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CVS. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 6,135 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 4,457 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in CVS Health by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,706 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Rogco LP lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Rogco LP now owns 6,752 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,532 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $293,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Edward Jones upgraded CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on CVS Health from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.28.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

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

CVS Health Trading Up 0.9 %

CVS stock traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $69.56. 12,536,878 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,766,703. CVS Health Co. has a 1-year low of $43.56 and a 1-year high of $71.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.51.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. CVS Health's payout ratio is currently 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.