Conning Inc. Sells 495,932 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Conning Inc. lowered its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 96.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 16,717 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 495,932 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $987,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverpoint Wealth Management Holdings LLC bought a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at about $218,000. Canoe Financial LP lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 95.1% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 1,762,629 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $139,177,000 after purchasing an additional 859,134 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 192.0% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 438 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 17,856 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 2,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 1.6% during the first quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 1,084,256 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $86,480,000 after purchasing an additional 16,840 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Price Performance

NYSE CVS traded down $0.22 on Wednesday, reaching $57.24. 7,832,059 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,211,881. CVS Health Co. has a 12 month low of $52.77 and a 12 month high of $83.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.89. The stock has a market cap of $71.86 billion, a PE ratio of 10.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.52.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.10. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The business had revenue of $91.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.41 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.65%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 22nd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is 46.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on CVS. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of CVS Health in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $61.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target (down from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of CVS Health from $95.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.24.

CVS Health Company 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.