Forsta AP Fonden Decreases Stock Holdings in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden reduced its holdings in CVS Health by 29.4%, selling 110,300 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total to 265,300 shares valued at approximately $17.97 million.
• CVS Health reported a quarterly EPS of $1.81, exceeding estimates by $0.35, and generated revenue of $98.92 billion, significantly surpassing the expected $94.87 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.665 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $2.66 and a yield of 4.1%.

Forsta AP Fonden decreased its holdings in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 29.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 265,300 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 110,300 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in CVS Health were worth $17,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in CVS Health by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 281.3% in the 1st quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 572 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 637 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its holdings in CVS Health by 77.2% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 1,024 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CVS shares. Bernstein Bank lowered their target price on CVS Health from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on CVS Health from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on CVS Health from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on CVS Health from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.11.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In related news, Director Guy P. Sansone acquired 1,570 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 12,007 shares in the company, valued at $764,845.90. This trade represents a 15.04% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CVS Health Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of CVS Health stock traded up $0.62 on Tuesday, hitting $65.50. 4,865,954 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,002,948. CVS Health Corporation has a one year low of $43.56 and a one year high of $72.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $64.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.45. The company has a market capitalization of $83.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.58.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.35. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 1.17%. The company had revenue of $98.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio is 74.30%.

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.