Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Buys 1,061 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 99,690 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,061 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $7,872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Atticus Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 149.0% in the fourth quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 366 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in CVS Health by 111.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 461 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. ZRC Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in CVS Health by 400.0% in the 4th quarter. ZRC Wealth Management LLC now owns 500 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Coston McIsaac & Partners increased its stake in CVS Health by 42.6% in the 4th quarter. Coston McIsaac & Partners now owns 539 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Edward J. Ludwig acquired 1,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,165,424.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other CVS Health news, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 1,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was 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 owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at $3,059,916.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CVS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. SVB Leerink reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target (down previously from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of CVS Health from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $87.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of CVS Health from $95.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of CVS Health from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.35.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $55.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 16,502,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,808,347. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.18. CVS Health Co. has a 1-year low of $53.70 and a 1-year high of $83.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $88.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. Analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.75%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.75%.

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.