Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 6,962 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 7.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 87,638 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 6,962 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in CVS Health were worth $5,511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CVS. Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 132.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 12,936,388 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $764,023,000 after buying an additional 7,382,931 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in CVS Health by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,917,923 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,024,334,000 after acquiring an additional 4,226,225 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in CVS Health by 8.0% in the first 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 period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 5,864.2% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,730,343 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $108,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,701,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 402.5% in the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 2,005,677 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $118,455,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CVS shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Mizuho reduced their price target on CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.44.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $53.19 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.66. CVS Health Co. has a 12 month low of $52.71 and a 12 month high of $83.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The business had revenue of $95.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.51%.

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.