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

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,709 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 6.9% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 27,311 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,753 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,252,000. Dubuque Bank & Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dubuque Bank & Trust Co now owns 4,742 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 31.1% in the third quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Poplar Forest Capital LLC raised its position in CVS Health by 16.9% in the third quarter. Poplar Forest Capital LLC now owns 524,983 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $36,654,000 after acquiring an additional 76,081 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

CVS Health Stock Performance

NYSE CVS opened at $55.67 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.78, a P/E/G 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.38). CVS Health had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business had revenue of $88.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. CVS Health’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CVS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. SVB Leerink reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 price target (down previously from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on CVS Health from $76.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com cut CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.75.

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.