Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Sells 7,599 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lowered its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 183,010 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 7,599 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $14,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,092,040,000. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 47.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 33,691,698 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,660,298,000 after acquiring an additional 10,837,801 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 573.8% during the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 5,553,457 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $442,944,000 after acquiring an additional 4,729,207 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 43,776,874 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,491,643,000 after purchasing an additional 3,232,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in CVS Health by 306.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,046,216 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $240,529,000 after purchasing an additional 2,297,100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS Health stock opened at $61.57 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $58.93 and its 200 day moving average is $67.17. CVS Health Co. has a one year low of $52.77 and a one year high of $83.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $77.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.52.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $88.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.33 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.32%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 46.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $76.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Leerink Partnrs cut CVS Health from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on CVS Health from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target (down from $90.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $58.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CVS Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CVS Health news, Director Edward J. Ludwig purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,424.40. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently 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.