CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Trading 0.5% Higher

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) was up 0.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $55.20 and last traded at $55.19. Approximately 1,880,682 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 11,779,099 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on CVS shares. Mizuho cut their target price on CVS Health from $86.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on CVS Health from $78.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. SVB Leerink reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down previously from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on CVS Health from $76.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen cut CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.75.

CVS Health Trading Up 1.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $69.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. 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 fifty day moving average price of $71.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.96.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). CVS Health had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business had revenue of $88.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. CVS Health’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 was Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.78%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total value of $2,267,947.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at $3,059,916.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Edward J. Ludwig acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,165,424.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was 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 owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,059,916.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CVS. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 1.5% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 13,455 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $928,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 6.9% during the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 27,311 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,753 shares during the period. Gratus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in CVS Health during the third quarter worth approximately $305,000. Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in CVS Health by 0.5% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 153,936 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $10,746,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares during the period. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association acquired a new stake in CVS Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,252,000. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by 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.