Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Purchases 852 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 100,542 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $8,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in CVS Health by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,696,285 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $9,293,299,000 after acquiring an additional 533,659 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,544,702 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,201,410,000 after buying an additional 119,631 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 33,691,698 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,660,298,000 after acquiring an additional 10,837,801 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in CVS Health by 2.2% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,136,920 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $987,041,000 after buying an additional 303,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,092,040,000. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In other news, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS stock traded down $0.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $56.00. 886,833 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,895,504. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $52.77 and a 1 year high of $83.25. The company has a market capitalization of $70.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.96, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $58.68 and its 200 day moving average is $69.71.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.38). CVS Health had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The company had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. CVS Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 7.02 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on CVS Health from $95.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on shares of CVS Health in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $61.00 target price for the company. SVB Leerink restated a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 price target (down from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $58.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, UBS Group lowered CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $85.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.05.

CVS Health Company Profile

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.