CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Trading Down 0.4%

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) traded down 0.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $57.13 and last traded at $57.27. 2,685,559 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 11,852,955 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.52.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on CVS. Mizuho decreased their price objective on CVS Health from $86.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Argus dropped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of CVS Health from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $87.00 to $58.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group downgraded CVS Health from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $85.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, CVS Health has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.75.

CVS Health Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $72.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.08, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm's 50 day moving average is $69.41 and its 200-day moving average is $72.44.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 13.53% and a net margin of 2.03%. The firm had revenue of $88.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.20 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.61%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Edward J. Ludwig purchased 1,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Atticus Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in CVS Health by 149.0% during the fourth quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 366 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 573.2% during the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 377 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Steph & Co. grew its holdings in CVS Health by 192.0% in the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 438 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

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.