Teacher Retirement System of Texas Purchases 201,120 Shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 248.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 282,232 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after purchasing an additional 201,120 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in CVS Health were worth $19,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dodge & Cox increased its position in CVS Health by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $3,147,054,000 after purchasing an additional 7,075,209 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $2,739,927,000 after buying an additional 12,819,148 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,051,540 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,211,582,000 after buying an additional 689,867 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,666,401 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,196,989,000 after buying an additional 1,212,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $880,319,000 after buying an additional 6,475,271 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS Health stock traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $66.68. The stock had a trading volume of 6,418,905 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,833,454. The firm's fifty day moving average is $65.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.86. The company has a market capitalization of $84.35 billion, a PE ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.57. CVS Health Corporation has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week 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.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 1.39% and a return on equity of 10.59%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.99%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.48%.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In related news, Director Guy P. Sansone acquired 1,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $63.70 per share, with a total value of $100,009.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 12,007 shares in the company, valued at $764,845.90. This represents a 15.04% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. 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 report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (up previously from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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.