Investors Buy Large Volume of CVS Health Call Options (NYSE:CVS)

CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 37,560 call options on the company. This is an increase of 59% compared to the average daily volume of 23,606 call options.

Institutional Trading of CVS Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avion Wealth grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 99.0% during the second quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 380 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 72.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in CVS Health by 407.2% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 350 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Corundum Trust Company INC purchased a new stake in CVS Health in the third quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the second quarter worth $30,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CVS shares. Truist Financial set a $100.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $101.00 price target (up previously from $99.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 13th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on CVS Health from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on CVS Health from $92.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.86.

CVS Health Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $82.65 on Friday. CVS Health has a 1-year low of $52.69 and a 1-year high of $85.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The business’s 50 day moving average is $78.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 217.51, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.48.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $102.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.85 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 11.45% and a net margin of 0.12%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.09 EPS. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.550-6.650 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that CVS Health will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 22nd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 700.00%.

CVS Health Company Profile

CVS Health Corporation is a diversified healthcare company that operates a large network of retail pharmacies, pharmacy benefit management services and health care solutions. Headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, the company traces its roots to the early 1960s and has grown into an integrated provider of prescription drugs, over‑the‑counter products, clinical services and health insurance offerings. Its operating model combines retail pharmacy locations and in‑store clinics with broader pharmacy and health plan capabilities.

Key business activities include CVS Pharmacy retail operations, MinuteClinic walk‑in medical clinics and HealthHUB locations that offer expanded clinical services.