Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 889,237 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 6.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,944,362 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 889,237 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in CVS Health were worth $873,227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health by 52.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 112,010 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $7,043,000 after purchasing an additional 38,408 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 3rd quarter worth $2,071,000. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 280.7% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 27,543 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,732,000 after buying an additional 20,308 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 192,436 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $11,163,000 after buying an additional 56,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in CVS Health by 4.6% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 64,517 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $4,041,000 after purchasing an additional 2,856 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $49.59 on Friday. CVS Health Co. has a 1 year low of $49.47 and a 1 year high of $83.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.54. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.36%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 67.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CVS shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on CVS Health from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com downgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $70.50.

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.