Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Lowers Position in CVS Health Corporation $CVS

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec significantly reduced its position in CVS Health by 92.4%, selling 622,172 shares, leaving it with only 51,130 shares valued at approximately $3.46 million.
• CVS Health's stock performance has seen analyst ratings range from "Strong Buy" to "Fairly Valued," with a current price target consensus of $77.56.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.665 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 3.7% and reflecting a payout ratio of 74.3%.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lowered its position in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 92.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 51,130 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 622,172 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec's holdings in CVS Health were worth $3,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in CVS Health by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC grew its position in CVS Health by 281.3% during the first quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 572 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the period. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in CVS Health during the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its position in CVS Health by 39.4% during the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 637 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS stock traded up $1.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $73.17. The stock had a trading volume of 6,391,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,107,539. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $66.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.80 billion, a PE ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. CVS Health Corporation has a 12 month low of $43.56 and a 12 month high of $73.23.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $98.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.87 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.17% and a return on equity of 10.51%. CVS Health's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.83 earnings per share. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd were paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio is 74.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on CVS. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. UBS Group upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Bernstein Bank cut their target price on shares of CVS Health from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $77.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other news, Director Guy P. Sansone purchased 1,570 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $63.70 per share, with a total value of $100,009.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $764,845.90. This represents a 15.04% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.02, for a total transaction of $532,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,573,519.12. The trade was a 25.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

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.