CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Sold by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lessened its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 14.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 99,324 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 16,590 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in CVS Health were worth $4,459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,071,613 shares during the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP grew its holdings in CVS Health by 7,567.7% during the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 2,402,901 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $107,866,000 after buying an additional 2,371,563 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in CVS Health by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,527,909 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $3,554,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,989,066 shares during the last quarter. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $121,987,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 5,864.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,730,343 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $108,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,701,331 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CVS traded up $0.78 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $66.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,397,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,211,756. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $51.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.07. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $80.75. The company has a market capitalization of $83.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. As a group, research analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on CVS shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Leerink Partners upgraded CVS Health from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Edward Jones upgraded CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the purchase, 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.