Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 26,981 Shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 331,498 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after buying an additional 26,981 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in CVS Health were worth $22,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whitebox Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at about $249,000. Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. Can purchased a new stake in CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at about $121,742,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in CVS Health by 2.1% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 8,981,262 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $608,481,000 after buying an additional 183,813 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,290,953 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $192,617,000 after purchasing an additional 293,406 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 248.0% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 282,232 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $19,121,000 after purchasing an additional 201,120 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVS traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $64.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,020,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,796,063. CVS Health Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $43.56 and a fifty-two week high of $72.51. The company has a market capitalization of $81.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $65.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.22.

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

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. CVS Health's payout ratio is 63.48%.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In related news, Director Guy P. Sansone bought 1,570 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $63.70 per share, for a total transaction of $100,009.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 12,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $764,845.90. This represents a 15.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CVS shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (up previously from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on CVS Health from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.06.

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.