CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Trading Down 1.5% on Analyst Downgrade

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) shares were down 1.5% on Wednesday after Argus lowered their price target on the stock from $100.00 to $80.00. Argus currently has a buy rating on the stock. CVS Health traded as low as $54.69 and last traded at $54.93. Approximately 3,955,369 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 11,776,579 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.74.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $95.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on CVS Health from $76.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company 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. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 43,213 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,017,000 after buying an additional 18,385 shares in the last quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 50,488 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,525,000 after purchasing an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in CVS Health by 2.3% in the third quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 10,405 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $726,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 2.6% during the third quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 19,355 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,351,000 after buying an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverpoint Wealth Management Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Up 1.4 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $69.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $71.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

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

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.78%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.75%.

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.