CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Sold by Sepio Capital LP

Sepio Capital LP lessened its holdings in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 59.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,892 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 5,749 shares during the period. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 33,691,698 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,660,298,000 after purchasing an additional 10,837,801 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 132.9% during the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 12,936,388 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $764,023,000 after purchasing an additional 7,382,931 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in CVS Health by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 43,776,874 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,491,643,000 after buying an additional 3,232,172 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 402.5% during the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 2,005,677 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $118,455,000 after acquiring an additional 1,606,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth about $111,209,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CVS Health Trading Up 4.0 %

CVS Health stock opened at $61.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.86. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $58.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.79, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.53. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $52.77 and a 52 week high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.10. CVS Health had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 1.98%. The company had revenue of $91.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.33%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CVS. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of CVS Health from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on CVS Health from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.10.

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.