Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 473 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,820 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 473 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Atticus Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in CVS Health by 149.0% in the fourth quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 366 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in CVS Health by 111.5% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 461 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in CVS Health by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners raised its holdings in CVS Health by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 539 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in CVS Health in the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Price Performance

CVS Health stock opened at $54.98 on Thursday. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $53.70 and a 12-month high of $83.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $71.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.02 billion, a PE ratio of 9.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). CVS Health had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The company had revenue of $88.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.84%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 46.75%.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In related news, Director Edward J. Ludwig acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other CVS Health news, Director Edward J. Ludwig purchased 1,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The purchase 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total transaction 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 approximately $3,059,916.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. SVB Leerink reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of CVS Health from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. UBS Group lowered shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.75.

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.