CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Receives “Market Perform” Rating from SVB Leerink

SVB Leerink restated their market perform rating on shares of CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) in a research note released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $60.00 price target on the pharmacy operator’s stock, down from their previous price target of $87.00.

CVS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $83.00 to $76.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Leerink Partnrs reissued an outperform rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an equal weight rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of CVS Health from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $86.28.

CVS Health Stock Down 16.8 %

Shares of CVS Health stock opened at $56.32 on Wednesday. CVS Health has a 52-week low of $54.00 and a 52-week high of $83.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $73.63 and a 200 day moving average of $73.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $70.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.56.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.11. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The company had revenue of $93.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $90.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.99 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that CVS Health will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.72%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were 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 directly owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The sale 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

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CVS. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in CVS Health by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,993 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 1,112 shares during the period. Accurate Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,144 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 5,081 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 8,433 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 65,885 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $4,600,000 after purchasing an additional 3,874 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.