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

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado reduced its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 183,010 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 7,599 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $14,597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in CVS Health by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 174,398 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $13,910,000 after buying an additional 10,871 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in CVS Health by 5.9% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,963,508 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $555,406,000 after purchasing an additional 389,166 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. acquired a new position in CVS Health during the first quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in CVS Health by 8.8% during the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,150,505 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $171,524,000 after purchasing an additional 174,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,203,000. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CVS Health Stock Performance

NYSE:CVS opened at $61.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.81. CVS Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $52.77 and a fifty-two week high of $83.25. The company has a market cap of $77.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.82, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $58.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.17.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 4.32%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on CVS shares. Argus reduced their price target on CVS Health from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. TD Cowen cut CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $99.00 to $59.00 in a research report 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. Bank of America dropped their price objective on CVS Health from $95.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on CVS Health from $78.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, Director Edward J. Ludwig purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,165,424.40. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.