CVS Health Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CVS)

CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 91,844 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 222% compared to the typical daily volume of 28,549 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CVS. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on CVS Health from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $91.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on CVS Health from $80.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered CVS Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.57.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS Health stock opened at $82.08 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company has a market capitalization of $104.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.93, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $75.02 and its 200 day moving average is $68.45. CVS Health has a twelve month low of $43.56 and a twelve month high of $83.52.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.35. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 1.17%.The business had revenue of $98.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that CVS Health will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 23rd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.30%.

Insider Activity

In other CVS Health news, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.02, for a total value of $532,650.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 22,156 shares in the company, valued at $1,573,519.12. The trade was a 25.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CVS. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. bought a new stake in CVS Health during the third quarter valued at about $9,612,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in CVS Health by 24.2% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 536,496 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $40,446,000 after acquiring an additional 104,401 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 5.8% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 56.7% in the third quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 4,731 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 1,712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garrison Point Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 10.8% in the third quarter. Garrison Point Advisors LLC now owns 9,250 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.