New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 112,000 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,998,867 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 112,000 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.16% of CVS Health worth $125,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 18,061 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,136,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the third quarter worth about $32,000. United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its stake in CVS Health by 2.4% during the third quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 9,217 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,537,791 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $96,696,000 after purchasing an additional 151,901 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 8.5% in the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,402 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CVS traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.86. The company had a trading volume of 946,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,114,916. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.65. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $52.77 and a 1 year high of $83.25. The stock has a market cap of $71.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.54.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $91.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.41 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.98% and a return on equity of 12.72%. CVS Health’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 47.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $85.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on CVS Health from $66.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.58.

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.