CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Trading Down 0.1%

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)’s share price fell 0.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $60.87 and last traded at $61.01. 8,908,978 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 12,579,301 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.09.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CVS shares. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of CVS Health from $95.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. TD Cowen downgraded shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Baird R W upgraded shares of CVS Health to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of CVS Health from $101.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Argus reduced their price target on shares of CVS Health from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.05.

CVS Health Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $60.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $76.59 billion, a PE ratio of 10.72, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 0.53.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.38). The firm had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.33 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.36%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 46.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Edward J. Ludwig acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CVS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,092,040,000. Capital International Investors boosted its position in CVS Health by 47.4% in 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 buying an additional 10,837,801 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in CVS Health by 573.8% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 5,553,457 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $442,944,000 after buying an additional 4,729,207 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in CVS Health by 8.0% in 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 period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in CVS Health by 306.6% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,046,216 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $240,529,000 after buying an additional 2,297,100 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

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.