National Pension Service Grows Stock Holdings in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in CVS Health by 5.8% during the first quarter, now holding 3,152,397 shares valued at approximately $213.57 million.
• CVS Health recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.81 for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.46, with revenues reaching $98.92 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.665 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 4.0% and a payout ratio of 74.30%.

National Pension Service raised its holdings in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,152,397 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after acquiring an additional 173,108 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.25% of CVS Health worth $213,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Whitebox Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth about $249,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 503.8% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,896,341 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $128,477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582,257 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 25.0% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 648,266 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $43,920,000 after purchasing an additional 129,535 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in CVS Health by 2.1% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,981,262 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $608,481,000 after purchasing an additional 183,813 shares during the period. Finally, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. Can acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $121,742,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CVS shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (up from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on CVS Health from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $71.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Bernstein Bank reduced their price target on shares of CVS Health from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $75.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In related news, Director Guy P. Sansone purchased 1,570 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $63.70 per share, with a total value of $100,009.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 12,007 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVS traded up $1.83 during trading on Friday, reaching $68.56. 8,251,802 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,019,700. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. CVS Health Corporation has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $72.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.96 billion, a PE ratio of 19.15, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.58. The company's 50 day moving average is $64.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.62.

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

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors 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 3.9%. CVS Health's payout ratio is currently 74.30%.

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.