National Pension Service Raises Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,309,273 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,832 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $182,340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In other news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $3,059,916.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Edward J. Ludwig purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the purchase, the director now 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. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CVS. UBS Group lowered CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $85.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Mizuho lowered their target price on CVS Health from $86.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Argus reduced their price target on CVS Health from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. SVB Leerink reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 target price (down previously from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on CVS Health from $78.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CVS Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.67.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS stock traded down $0.81 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $54.93. The stock had a trading volume of 13,618,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,890,314. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $53.70 and a twelve month high of $83.25. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.96 billion, a PE ratio of 9.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56.

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

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

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

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.