CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Sold by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP decreased its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 39.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 754,152 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 489,414 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $47,421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 177,372 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $14,143,000 after purchasing an additional 4,318 shares during the period. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 1st quarter worth approximately $241,000. Heartland Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in CVS Health by 124.9% during the first quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 8,196 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 4,552 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. grew its position in CVS Health by 6.2% in the first quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 61,939 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $4,940,000 after buying an additional 3,628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of CVS Health in the first quarter valued at $1,085,000. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS stock opened at $59.02 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $74.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $59.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. CVS Health Co. has a 12 month low of $52.71 and a 12 month high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $95.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.72 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.51%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CVS. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com downgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price target (down previously from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of CVS Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Monday, November 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.33.

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.