Employees Retirement System of Texas Acquires 39,060 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 33.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 154,600 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after acquiring an additional 39,060 shares during the quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings in CVS Health were worth $6,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,369,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in CVS Health in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $409,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 67.2% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 64,489 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $4,055,000 after buying an additional 25,925 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 6.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 224,248 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $14,101,000 after buying an additional 13,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Insigneo Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 44.4% in the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,866 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 2,417 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CVS. Evercore ISI increased their target price on CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of CVS Health from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Argus set a $77.00 price target on CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.28.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE CVS traded up $0.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $69.56. 12,536,878 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,750,465. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business's fifty day moving average is $65.10 and its 200 day moving average is $58.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. CVS Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $43.56 and a fifty-two week high of $71.66.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. Equities research analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 39,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. The trade was a 320.65 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total transaction of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by 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.