Nordea Investment Management AB Sells 610,528 Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)

Nordea Investment Management AB lessened its position in shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) by 5.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,841,828 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 610,528 shares during the period. CVS Health accounts for 0.9% of Nordea Investment Management AB’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Nordea Investment Management AB owned about 0.77% of CVS Health worth $678,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Live Oak Investment Partners bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC bought a new stake in CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. 25 LLC purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health in the first quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP James David Clark sold 25,759 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.92, for a total value of $1,929,864.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $351,974.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE CVS traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $70.52. 1,105,967 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,085,604. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.86. CVS Health Co. has a 12-month low of $64.62 and a 12-month high of $104.83. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $70.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.04. The firm has a market cap of $90.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.63.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The pharmacy operator reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.09. CVS Health had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 0.86%. The firm had revenue of $88.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 1st. Investors of record on Friday, July 21st were given a dividend of $0.605 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 20th. This represents a $2.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 106.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CVS shares. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on CVS Health from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 1st. Edward Jones lowered shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of CVS Health from $114.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on CVS Health from $103.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of CVS Health from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.00.

About CVS Health

CVS Health Corporation provides health services in the United States. It operates through Health Care Benefits, Pharmacy Services, and Retail/LTC segments. The Health Care Benefits segment offers traditional, voluntary, and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services. It serves employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups, and expatriates.