CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Trading Down 1.2% on Analyst Downgrade

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) traded down 1.2% on Monday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $82.00 to $79.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. CVS Health traded as low as $63.09 and last traded at $63.28. 1,356,763 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 11,174,638 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.04.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Leerink Partners raised CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group raised their target price on CVS Health from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on CVS Health from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.75.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In other news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total transaction of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Modern Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 1st quarter worth approximately $204,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 1st quarter worth approximately $55,775,000. GK Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 1st quarter worth approximately $253,000. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 30,255 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,050,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 217,896 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $14,762,000 after acquiring an additional 14,761 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Trading Down 0.7%

The firm has a market cap of $80.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average of $65.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.74.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $94.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.07 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. CVS Health’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.48%.

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.