Argus Lowers CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Price Target to $80.00

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) had its price objective reduced by analysts at Argus from $100.00 to $80.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the pharmacy operator’s stock. Argus’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 43.70% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on CVS Health from $76.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen downgraded shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $99.00 to $59.00 in a report on Tuesday. Leerink Partnrs cut shares of CVS Health from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.75.

CVS Health Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:CVS opened at $55.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $69.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.78, a PEG 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. CVS Health has a 1 year low of $53.70 and a 1 year high of $83.25. The business has a fifty day moving average of $71.54 and a 200-day moving average of $72.96.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.38). CVS Health had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The company had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that CVS Health will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other CVS Health news, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $53.88 per share, with a total value 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 approximately $1,165,424.40. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other CVS Health 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at $3,059,916.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Edward J. Ludwig acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth about $1,092,040,000. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 33,691,698 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,660,298,000 after purchasing an additional 10,837,801 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 29.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,487,238 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,919,159,000 after purchasing an additional 6,194,441 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in CVS Health by 573.8% in the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 5,553,457 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $442,944,000 after purchasing an additional 4,729,207 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 306.6% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,046,216 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $240,529,000 after buying an additional 2,297,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

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.