Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Boosts Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 310,294 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,332 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $24,501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PDS Planning Inc lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 3,543 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,839,289 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $224,190,000 after buying an additional 10,559 shares during the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in CVS Health by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 63,952 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $5,050,000 after purchasing an additional 12,217 shares during the last quarter. Townsend Asset Management Corp NC ADV acquired a new stake in CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth about $233,000. Finally, Monument Capital Management acquired a new stake in CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth about $207,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS Health stock traded down $0.14 during trading on Monday, reaching $69.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,699,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,787,651. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $75.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.77. The firm has a market cap of $87.74 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.52. CVS Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $64.41 and a fifty-two week high of $83.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $93.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.58 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.99 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 8.32 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $83.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $87.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total value of $2,267,947.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.