UBS Group Downgrades CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) to Neutral

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at UBS Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $60.00 price target on the pharmacy operator's stock, down from their prior price target of $85.00. UBS Group's price target points to a potential upside of 8.79% from the company's previous close.

CVS has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on CVS Health from $83.00 to $76.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Barclays started coverage on CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $78.00 target price for the company. SVB Leerink reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $60.00 price target (down from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut CVS Health from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut CVS Health from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $87.00 to $58.00 in a report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CVS Health currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.35.

CVS Health Trading Down 2.1 %

CVS traded down $1.16 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $55.15. 37,808,624 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,608,837. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.56. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $73.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. CVS Health has a 1-year low of $53.70 and a 1-year high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.38). CVS Health had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 2.33%. The firm had revenue of $88.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CVS Health will post 8.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, Director Edward J. Ludwig acquired 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director now owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,424.40. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total value of $2,267,947.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,424.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,696,285 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $9,293,299,000 after acquiring an additional 533,659 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 119,631 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position 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 valued at $2,660,298,000 after purchasing an additional 10,837,801 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,487,238 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,919,159,000 after buying an additional 6,194,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in CVS Health by 2.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,214,296 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $992,442,000 after buying an additional 305,564 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.