Investors Buy Large Volume of CVS Health Call Options (NYSE:CVS)

Key Points

• There was a significant increase in options trading for CVS Health, with investors acquiring 91,844 call options, up 222% from the average volume.
• Multiple analysts have raised price targets for CVS Health, with Barclays setting a new target at $87.00 and Jefferies increasing theirs to $92.00.
• CVS Health announced a quarterly dividend of $0.665 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.2%, to be paid on November 3rd.

CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 91,844 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 222% compared to the typical volume of 28,549 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on CVS Health from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on CVS Health from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $79.00 in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.57.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CVS traded down $0.96 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $82.08. The company had a trading volume of 6,358,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,233,551. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $104.11 billion, a PE ratio of 22.93, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.60. The business's 50 day moving average price is $74.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.36. CVS Health has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $83.52.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.35. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.17% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The company had revenue of $98.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. Analysts expect that CVS Health will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 23rd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. CVS Health's payout ratio is 74.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CVS Health news, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.02, for a total transaction of $532,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 22,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,573,519.12. The trade was a 25.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Avion Wealth increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 99.0% during the 2nd quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 380 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 72.1% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of CVS Health in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 119.8% in the first quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 455 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Front Row Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 436.5% in the second quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 456 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during 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.

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