CVS Health Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:CVS)

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders bought 56,549 call options on the company. This is an increase of 28% compared to the typical volume of 44,235 call options.

CVS Health Price Performance

CVS opened at $55.82 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $59.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. CVS Health has a 12-month low of $52.71 and a 12-month high of $83.25. The firm has a market cap of $70.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.55.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The business had revenue of $95.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CVS Health will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in CVS Health by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,527,909 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,554,475,000 after buying an additional 1,989,066 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in CVS Health by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 43,776,874 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,491,643,000 after buying an additional 3,232,172 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in CVS Health by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,917,923 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,024,334,000 after buying an additional 4,226,225 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,361,673 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,651,997,000 after acquiring an additional 461,569 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 1.4% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,143,822 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,048,351,000 after acquiring an additional 184,297 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial boosted their target price on CVS Health from $66.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Mizuho lowered their price target on CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of CVS Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.78.

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.