Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Stock Position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 86,447 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 1,191 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in CVS Health were worth $3,881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its stake in CVS Health by 0.7% during the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 27,625 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,737,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 11,506 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,777 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in CVS Health by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 4,457 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Rogco LP boosted its stake in CVS Health by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Rogco LP now owns 6,752 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other CVS Health news, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CVS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised their price target on CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen increased their target price on CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.00.

CVS Health Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $63.42 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.23. CVS Health Co. has a twelve month low of $43.56 and a twelve month high of $80.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $79.95 billion, a PE ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.61.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. On average, equities analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

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.