Benjamin Edwards Inc. Has $344,000 Stock Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 10.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,353 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its position in CVS Health by 74.0% during the third quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 43,213 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,017,000 after purchasing an additional 18,385 shares during the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. grew its position in CVS Health by 26.5% in the third quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 991,601 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $69,261,000 after acquiring an additional 207,702 shares in the last quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 50,488 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,525,000 after purchasing an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 10,405 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 2.6% in the third quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 19,355 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, Director Edward J. Ludwig purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,424.40. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other CVS Health news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total value of $2,267,947.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Edward J. Ludwig acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS stock traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $55.90. The company had a trading volume of 23,946,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,498,538. CVS Health Co. has a 12 month low of $53.70 and a 12 month high of $83.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $73.19 and its 200 day moving average is $73.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.82, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.56.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.38). CVS Health had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.76%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is presently 46.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $85.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday. Bank of America decreased their target price on CVS Health from $95.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of CVS Health from $83.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of CVS Health from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $87.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.35.

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.