Leerink Partnrs Has Weak Outlook for CVS Health Q1 Earnings

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) – Equities researchers at Leerink Partnrs reduced their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for shares of CVS Health in a research report issued on Saturday, October 19th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now forecasts that the pharmacy operator will earn $1.49 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.59. The consensus estimate for CVS Health’s current full-year earnings is $6.51 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for CVS Health’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.82 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.86 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $1.80 EPS.

CVS has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $66.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on CVS Health from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CVS Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.26.

CVS Health Price Performance

CVS Health stock opened at $58.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $59.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.32. CVS Health has a 12 month low of $52.77 and a 12 month high of $83.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $73.04 billion, a PE ratio of 10.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.54.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.10. CVS Health had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 1.98%. The business had revenue of $91.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $91.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. CVS Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.57%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 46.75%.

Institutional Trading of CVS Health

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in CVS Health by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,005 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Capital LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health by 51.4% during the third quarter. Sierra Capital LLC now owns 11,193 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $704,000 after acquiring an additional 3,800 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 49.2% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 47,708 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,000,000 after purchasing an additional 15,741 shares during the last quarter. Kempner Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in CVS Health during the third quarter valued at $2,140,000. Finally, Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the third quarter worth $31,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by 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.