AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Has $54.13 Million Stake in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd reduced its stake in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 37.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 798,903 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 486,331 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned 0.06% of CVS Health worth $54,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in CVS Health by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 20,705 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 17,114 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,930 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 7.4% during the first quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 2,610 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $177,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CVS traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $61.80. The stock had a trading volume of 4,271,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,750,567. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. CVS Health Corporation has a 1 year low of $43.56 and a 1 year high of $72.51. The company has a market capitalization of $78.17 billion, a PE ratio of 14.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.57.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.63. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.59% and a net margin of 1.39%. The firm had revenue of $94.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. CVS Health's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.30%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 22nd. CVS Health's payout ratio is presently 63.48%.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In related news, Director Guy P. Sansone acquired 1,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $63.70 per share, with a total value of $100,009.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 12,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $764,845.90. This trade represents a 15.04% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CVS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays set a $79.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Mizuho lifted their price objective on CVS Health from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $84.00 price target (up previously from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.06.

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.