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

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 633,045 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after buying an additional 15,889 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of CVS Health worth $39,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 13,135,308 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $825,948,000 after purchasing an additional 198,920 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 5.9% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,963,508 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $555,406,000 after buying an additional 389,166 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 33.5% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,289,788 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $310,722,000 after buying an additional 1,327,855 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its stake in CVS Health by 17.4% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 2,843,402 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $178,793,000 after acquiring an additional 421,416 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in CVS Health by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,436,343 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $143,890,000 after acquiring an additional 57,214 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.4 %

CVS Health stock opened at $57.07 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.55. CVS Health Co. has a fifty-two week low of $52.71 and a fifty-two week high of $83.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.59.

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. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The business had revenue of $95.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.66%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CVS shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 15th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.28.

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.