CVS Health Corporation $CVS Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its stake in CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) by 5.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,793,090 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 97,353 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $135,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 418.9% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 467 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 32.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,774 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $191,000 after buying an additional 677 shares during the last quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 34.3% during the second quarter. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC now owns 9,053 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $624,000 after buying an additional 2,312 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 16.7% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 21,000 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,449,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LBP AM SA raised its holdings in CVS Health by 70.1% in the second quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 238,759 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $16,470,000 after acquiring an additional 98,429 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CVS Health News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting CVS Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CVS shares rose while the broader market fell, reflecting short-term buying interest and risk-on flows. Zacks Article
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell ~13.4% in January to ~18.76M shares (1.5% of float), lowering potential downward pressure from short sellers and reducing squeeze risk (days-to-cover ~2.5). Short Interest Data
• Positive Sentiment: An executive vice president disclosed a small open-market buy (24 shares at ~$53.70 on Jan. 23), a modest insider signal of confidence. SEC Form 4
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts at Argus cut their price target slightly from $91 to $90 but kept a “buy” rating (still showing material upside), signaling continued analyst support despite the trim. The Fly
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America lowered its target from $100 to $95 but maintained a “buy” stance, also implying continued conviction in longer-term upside despite near-term adjustments. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: The administration’s proposal to keep Medicare rates roughly flat has pressured Medicare-related revenue expectations for payers and pharmacy benefit managers, contributing to earlier selloffs and ongoing margin concerns for CVS. Barron’s
• Negative Sentiment: A House Judiciary report and related coverage allege CVS used tactics to limit competition from rival pharmacy hubs, introducing regulatory and legal risk that could increase compliance costs or fines. HealthcareDive

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $92.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on CVS Health from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on CVS Health from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, December 29th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.82.

CVS Health Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $74.14 on Thursday. CVS Health Corporation has a 12-month low of $53.36 and a 12-month high of $85.15. The company has a market cap of $94.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 195.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.02.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $102.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.85 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 11.45% and a net margin of 0.12%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 22nd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 700.00%.

CVS Health Company Profile

CVS Health Corporation is a diversified healthcare company that operates a large network of retail pharmacies, pharmacy benefit management services and health care solutions. Headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, the company traces its roots to the early 1960s and has grown into an integrated provider of prescription drugs, over‑the‑counter products, clinical services and health insurance offerings. Its operating model combines retail pharmacy locations and in‑store clinics with broader pharmacy and health plan capabilities.

Key business activities include CVS Pharmacy retail operations, MinuteClinic walk‑in medical clinics and HealthHUB locations that offer expanded clinical services.