Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of CVS Health Call Options (NYSE:CVS)

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders bought 68,954 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 39% compared to the average daily volume of 49,636 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In related news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total transaction of $2,267,947.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Edward J. Ludwig purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 21,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares of the company's stock, 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 institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CVS. Atticus Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in CVS Health by 149.0% in the fourth quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 366 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 573.2% during the fourth quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 377 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 111.5% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 461 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on CVS shares. Argus dropped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $76.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 price objective (down from $90.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of CVS Health from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $76.75.

CVS Health Stock Up 2.2 %

CVS stock traded up $1.26 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $57.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,972,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,953,870. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $72.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.56. CVS Health has a 12 month low of $53.70 and a 12 month high of $83.25. The firm's 50-day moving average is $69.74 and its 200-day moving average is $72.54.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 EPS 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 company had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CVS Health will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.