Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Decreases Stock Position in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC cut its stake in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) by 17.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,542 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 2,972 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at $839,574,000. Capital World Investors raised its stake in CVS Health by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,739,927,000 after buying an additional 12,819,148 shares during the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers raised its stake in CVS Health by 2,998.1% during the 4th quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 11,385,950 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $511,115,000 after buying an additional 11,018,438 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in CVS Health by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,147,054,000 after buying an additional 7,075,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 6,475,271 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Down 0.3%

CVS opened at $66.91 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.35. CVS Health Corporation has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $72.51. The company has a market capitalization of $84.64 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.63. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 10.59%. The firm had revenue of $94.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on CVS. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on CVS Health from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on CVS Health from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Mizuho upped their price objective on CVS Health from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays set a $79.00 price objective on CVS Health and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.75.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other news, Director Guy P. Sansone acquired 1,570 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $63.70 per share, with a total value of $100,009.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 12,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $764,845.90. This trade represents a 15.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About CVS Health

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.