CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Stock Price Down 0.6%

Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) traded down 0.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $55.33 and last traded at $55.55. 4,292,601 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 11,662,083 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CVS. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target (down previously from $90.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on CVS Health from $76.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on CVS Health from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, SVB Leerink reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 price target (down previously from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.67.

CVS Health Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $68.96 billion, a PE ratio of 9.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $71.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.38). The firm had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 2.03%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.84%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 46.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, Director Edward J. Ludwig acquired 1,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other CVS Health news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total value of $2,267,947.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,059,916.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Edward J. Ludwig purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,696,285 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $9,293,299,000 after acquiring an additional 533,659 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 0.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 119,631 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 47.4% during the 4th 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. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,487,238 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,919,159,000 after acquiring an additional 6,194,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 2.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,214,296 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $992,442,000 after purchasing an additional 305,564 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.