Pacer Advisors Inc. Buys 15,889 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 633,045 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,889 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $39,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 410,001 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $25,781,000 after acquiring an additional 36,132 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc. boosted its position in CVS Health by 43.8% during the third quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 122,682 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $7,125,000 after purchasing an additional 37,395 shares during the period. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C acquired a new stake in CVS Health during the second quarter worth approximately $57,584,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in CVS Health by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 448,323 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,191,000 after buying an additional 24,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional increased its position in CVS Health by 698.0% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 74,609 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $4,691,000 after buying an additional 65,259 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on CVS shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price target (down previously from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho lowered their price objective on CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CVS Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.28.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS Health stock opened at $57.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $71.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. CVS Health Co. has a twelve month low of $52.71 and a twelve month high of $83.25. The company’s fifty day moving average is $59.20 and its 200 day moving average is $58.60.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $95.43 billion during 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 period last year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.