Wedbush Securities Inc. Sells 4,837 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Wedbush Securities Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,303 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 4,837 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.'s holdings in CVS Health were worth $822,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in CVS Health during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 255.7% during the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 137.5% during the 4th quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 805 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CVS. Leerink Partners raised shares of CVS Health from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.28.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of CVS traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $69.56. 12,536,878 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,766,703. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $71.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.51. The company has a market cap of $87.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors 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 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health's payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the director now owns 39,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,625,045.20. The trade was a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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.