Westpac Banking Corp Sells 15,217 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 41.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,896 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 15,217 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in CVS Health were worth $983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 3.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,527,909 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $3,554,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,989,066 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,051,540 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,211,582,000 after purchasing an additional 689,867 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $880,319,000 after purchasing an additional 6,475,271 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth $839,574,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 710,281 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This 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 accessible through this link. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total transaction of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at $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. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group dropped their price target on CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised CVS Health from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.39.

CVS Health Stock Down 5.9 %

NYSE:CVS traded down $3.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $63.54. The stock had a trading volume of 13,291,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,586,970. The stock has a market cap of $80.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. The business's 50 day moving average is $63.47 and its 200 day moving average is $58.01. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.56 and a fifty-two week high of $74.85.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health's payout ratio is 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.