Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Cuts Stake in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)

Key Points

• Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. reduced its stake in CVS Health by 46.8% in the 1st quarter, ending up with 16,150 shares valued at approximately $1,094,000.
• CVS Health reported a quarterly EPS of $2.25, exceeding estimates of $1.62, with a revenue of $94.59 billion, which was higher than anticipated.
• CVS Health recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.665, translating to an annual yield of 4.38%.

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. cut its holdings in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 46.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,150 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 14,196 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.'s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its stake in CVS Health by 39.4% during 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. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 584.8% in the first quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC now owns 719 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 63.9% during the first quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 741 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC raised its position in CVS Health by 147.2% in the 1st quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 749 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 446 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, Director Guy P. Sansone bought 1,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $63.70 per share, for a total transaction of $100,009.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $764,845.90. This trade represents a 15.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $84.00 price target (up previously from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective 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, Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.82.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of CVS traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $60.00. The stock had a trading volume of 11,023,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,834,479. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.74. CVS Health Corporation has a 12 month low of $43.56 and a 12 month high of $72.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $75.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.57.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $94.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.07 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 22nd. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.48%.

CVS Health Company 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.