CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 307,106 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 16,512 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in CVS Health were worth $13,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 0.7% during the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 27,625 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,737,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 1.8% during the third quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 11,506 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $724,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 4,457 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $200,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Rogco LP increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Rogco LP now owns 6,752 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 2.4% during the third quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 9,217 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CVS shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Leerink Partners raised shares of CVS Health from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Argus set a $77.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.83.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,625,045.20. The trade was a 320.65 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

CVS Health Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CVS traded up $1.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $65.85. 10,474,843 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,550,715. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.60. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $80.75. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $54.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.46.

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

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio is presently 72.68%.

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.