Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of CVS Health Call Options (NYSE:CVS)

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors purchased 53,221 call options on the company. This is an increase of 62% compared to the average volume of 32,948 call options.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In related news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was 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 owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at $3,059,916.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CVS Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CVS. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 2,859 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $226,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 3,378 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC now owns 3,612 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. WealthShield Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 4,498 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,639 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CVS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on CVS Health from $83.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com cut CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. SVB Leerink started coverage on CVS Health in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.44.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS Health stock opened at $67.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $74.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. CVS Health has a 1-year low of $64.41 and a 1-year high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $93.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.58 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.99 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that CVS Health will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 41.18%.

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.