Whittier Trust Co. Lowers Holdings in CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Whittier Trust Co. trimmed its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 30,390 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 11,124 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $1,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 132.9% in the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 12,936,388 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $764,023,000 after acquiring an additional 7,382,931 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 12.5% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,917,923 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,024,334,000 after purchasing an additional 4,226,225 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake 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 valued at $3,491,643,000 after buying an additional 3,232,172 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $118,455,000 after buying an additional 1,606,500 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 1st quarter worth $110,816,000. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $56.85 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $71.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.54. CVS Health Co. has a 12 month low of $52.77 and a 12 month high of $83.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $59.87 and its 200 day moving average is $60.19.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.10. CVS Health had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 1.98%. The company had revenue of $91.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. CVS Health’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.68%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CVS Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.26.

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.