Cerity Partners LLC Sells 107,360 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Cerity Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 617,980 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 107,360 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $38,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CVS. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 6.6% during the first 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. Ascent Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 503.7% during the first quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 17,610 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,405,000 after buying an additional 14,693 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health during the first quarter worth $2,114,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in CVS Health by 4.9% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,892,879 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $150,976,000 after purchasing an additional 88,113 shares during the period. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 25.0% in the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 14,057 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 2,815 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $58.01 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $52.71 and a fifty-two week high of $83.25. The stock has a market cap of $73.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.61.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.59%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 67.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CVS. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $85.00 in a report on Friday, October 4th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.28.

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.