MetLife Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

MetLife Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 327,170 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 7,788 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $20,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CVS. Garland Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Garland Capital Management Inc. now owns 60,810 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,591,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 46,637 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,754,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,268 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in CVS Health by 2.5% during the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,458 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS Health stock opened at $59.96 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.72. CVS Health Co. has a 52 week low of $52.71 and a 52 week 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 firm has a market cap of $75.45 billion, a PE ratio of 15.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.55.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $92.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.44%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of CVS Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $66.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com cut CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on CVS Health from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.33.

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.