CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Downgraded by UBS Group to Neutral

UBS Group cut shares of CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. UBS Group currently has $60.00 target price on the pharmacy operator’s stock, down from their prior target price of $85.00.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on CVS. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. SVB Leerink restated a market perform rating and set a $60.00 target price (down from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Leerink Partnrs restated an outperform rating on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an equal weight rating and a $78.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of CVS Health from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $80.35.

CVS Health Stock Performance

NYSE:CVS opened at $55.90 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $72.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.29. CVS Health has a 1-year low of $53.70 and a 1-year high of $83.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $70.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.38). CVS Health had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The firm had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CVS Health will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd were paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 19th. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 46.75%.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other news, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Edward J. Ludwig acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total transaction of $2,267,947.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CVS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth about $1,092,040,000. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 33,691,698 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,660,298,000 after purchasing an additional 10,837,801 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,487,238 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,919,159,000 after purchasing an additional 6,194,441 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 573.8% during the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 5,553,457 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $442,944,000 after purchasing an additional 4,729,207 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 306.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,046,216 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $240,529,000 after purchasing an additional 2,297,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.