Investors Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on CVS Health (NYSE:CVS)

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 93,675 put options on the company. This is an increase of 80% compared to the average daily volume of 52,056 put options.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In related news, Director Edward J. Ludwig purchased 1,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,424.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CVS Health

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BigSur Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in CVS Health during the first quarter valued at $1,679,000. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 97,348 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $7,764,000 after buying an additional 1,292 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in CVS Health in the first quarter worth about $110,816,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in CVS Health during the first quarter worth approximately $1,085,000. Finally, Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 61,939 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $4,940,000 after purchasing an additional 3,628 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.2 %

CVS opened at $57.46 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. CVS Health has a twelve month low of $53.70 and a twelve month high of $83.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.10, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $67.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.13.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.20 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that CVS Health will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.63%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on CVS shares. StockNews.com downgraded CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $95.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on CVS Health from $78.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of CVS Health from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $87.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.75.

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.