Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Makes New $214,000 Investment in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management purchased a new stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 2,709 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atticus Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 149.0% during the 4th quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 366 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 111.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 461 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 400.0% during the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 539 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

CVS Health Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of CVS stock opened at $55.67 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $71.54 and a 200-day moving average of $72.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $69.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.78, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. CVS Health Co. has a 1-year low of $53.70 and a 1-year high of $83.25.

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

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 46.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered CVS Health from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $87.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Leerink Partnrs cut CVS Health from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.75.

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.