MQS Management LLC Invests $237,000 in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

MQS Management LLC bought a new position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,763 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CVS. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 132.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 12,936,388 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $764,023,000 after buying an additional 7,382,931 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in CVS Health by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,917,923 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,024,334,000 after acquiring an additional 4,226,225 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in CVS Health by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 43,776,874 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,491,643,000 after acquiring an additional 3,232,172 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in CVS Health by 5,864.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,730,343 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $108,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,701,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in CVS Health by 402.5% during the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 2,005,677 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $118,455,000 after acquiring an additional 1,606,500 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CVS shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays decreased their price objective on CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on CVS Health from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CVS Health currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.44.

CVS Health Stock Down 3.4 %

NYSE:CVS opened at $53.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.55. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $52.71 and a 12-month high of $83.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.76.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $95.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.72 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.21 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. CVS Health’s payout ratio is presently 67.51%.

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.