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

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 93,675 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 80% compared to the typical daily volume of 52,056 put options.

CVS Health Stock Down 3.1 %

NYSE CVS traded down $1.79 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $55.65. 18,268,702 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,012,716. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.02. CVS Health has a 1-year low of $53.70 and a 1-year high of $83.25. The company has a market cap of $69.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The company's revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CVS Health will post 7.02 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.78%. CVS Health's payout ratio is 46.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other news, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 1,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,424.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CVS. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 74.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 43,213 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $3,017,000 after buying an additional 18,385 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in CVS Health by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 10,405 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 19,355 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. Riverpoint Wealth Management Holdings LLC bought a new position in CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth about $218,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 95.1% during the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 1,762,629 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $139,177,000 after buying an additional 859,134 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on CVS shares. Leerink Partnrs lowered CVS Health from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $78.00 to $63.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 price objective (down from $90.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Argus lowered their price target on CVS Health from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.