CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Rating Lowered to Market Perform at Leerink Partnrs

Leerink Partnrs cut shares of CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Zacks.com reports. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for CVS Health’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.94 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $9.68 EPS.

CVS has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group cut CVS Health from a buy rating to a neutral rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday. Barclays cut their price objective on CVS Health from $78.00 to $63.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial reissued a buy rating and set a $66.00 price objective (down previously from $90.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on CVS Health from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com cut CVS Health from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CVS Health currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $80.35.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $55.90 on Wednesday. CVS Health has a fifty-two week low of $53.70 and a fifty-two week high of $83.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $73.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.63.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.38). CVS Health had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. CVS Health’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that CVS Health will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.76%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total transaction of $2,267,947.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total transaction of $2,267,947.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Edward J. Ludwig purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 $1,165,424.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atticus Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 149.0% during the 4th quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 366 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 573.2% during the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 377 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 192.0% during the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 438 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

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.