CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 18,500,000 shares, an increase of 6.2% from the August 15th total of 17,420,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,210,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CVS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Baird R W raised shares of CVS Health to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on CVS Health from $101.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays reduced their price objective on CVS Health from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on CVS Health in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $61.00 target price for the company. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.10.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in CVS Health by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,696,285 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $9,293,299,000 after buying an additional 533,659 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 43,776,874 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,491,643,000 after purchasing an additional 3,232,172 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in CVS Health by 12.5% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,917,923 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,024,334,000 after purchasing an additional 4,226,225 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in CVS Health by 1.4% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,143,822 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,048,351,000 after purchasing an additional 184,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in CVS Health by 132.9% in the second quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 12,936,388 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $764,023,000 after purchasing an additional 7,382,931 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Trading Up 0.2 %

CVS stock traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $58.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 782,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,903,208. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.27, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.53. CVS Health has a 1 year low of $52.77 and a 1 year high of $83.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.74.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $91.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.41 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.98% and a return on equity of 12.72%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.21 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that CVS Health will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 22nd. 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.