Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 2,299 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,782 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 2,299 shares during the quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $867,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Spirepoint Private Client LLC purchased a new stake in CVS Health in the 1st quarter worth approximately $225,000. TIAA Trust National Association increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 0.9% in the first quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 40,844 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,258,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 13.0% during the 1st quarter. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC now owns 17,534 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,399,000 after purchasing an additional 2,022 shares during the period. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,339 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 1,352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davis R M Inc. increased its stake in CVS Health by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 3,010 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $53.19 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $59.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.72. CVS Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $52.71 and a fifty-two week high of $83.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $66.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.55.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.01. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The business had revenue of $95.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.72 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.00%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 67.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Mizuho dropped their price target on CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.44.

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.