CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Sold by Poplar Forest Capital LLC

Poplar Forest Capital LLC lowered its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 28.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 373,527 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 151,456 shares during the quarter. CVS Health accounts for about 4.3% of Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $29,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in CVS Health by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 2,859 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 3,378 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC now owns 3,612 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 4,498 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,639 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other CVS Health news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total transaction of $2,267,947.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,059,916.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of CVS stock traded down $0.74 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $67.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,650,023 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,731,002. CVS Health Co. has a 1-year low of $64.41 and a 1-year high of $83.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $74.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $85.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.52.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $93.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.58 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 2.33%. CVS Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.99 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 8.31 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CVS. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. SVB Leerink started coverage on CVS Health in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on CVS Health from $83.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $87.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.44.

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.