Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Sells 5,815 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lessened its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 592,826 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock after selling 5,815 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina's holdings in CVS Health were worth $26,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,369,000. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 3rd quarter worth $409,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 6.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 224,248 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $14,101,000 after acquiring an additional 13,120 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in CVS Health by 27.8% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,400 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,084,000 after purchasing an additional 3,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in CVS Health by 28.7% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 46,938 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $2,951,000 after buying an additional 10,465 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CVS Health Trading Up 0.4 %

CVS stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $69.22. 3,896,887 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,752,847. CVS Health Co. has a 1-year low of $43.56 and a 1-year high of $71.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.27 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

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 (EPS) 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, sell-side analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CVS. UBS Group reduced their price objective on CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised their target price on CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CVS Health currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of the business's 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.