CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Price Target Cut to $77.00

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) had its target price lowered by Bank of America from $95.00 to $77.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the pharmacy operator’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on CVS. Truist Financial restated a buy rating and issued a $66.00 price target (down from $90.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of CVS Health from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $72.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded CVS Health from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut CVS Health from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $87.00 to $58.00 in a report on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CVS Health currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $80.35.

CVS Health Price Performance

CVS Health stock traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $55.90. 23,946,075 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,498,538. CVS Health has a 12-month low of $53.70 and a 12-month high of $83.25. The company has a market cap of $70.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.82, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $72.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.33 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 2.03%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that CVS Health will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.76%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CVS Health news, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly 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 hyperlink. In related news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Edward J. Ludwig purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were purchased 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CVS Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,696,285 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $9,293,299,000 after purchasing an additional 533,659 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in CVS Health by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,544,702 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,201,410,000 after acquiring an additional 119,631 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in CVS Health by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 33,691,698 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,660,298,000 after acquiring an additional 10,837,801 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 6,194,441 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in CVS Health by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,214,296 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $992,442,000 after purchasing an additional 305,564 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently 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.