CVS Health Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CVS)

CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 91,844 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 222% compared to the average daily volume of 28,549 call options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.02, for a total value of $532,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 22,156 shares in the company, valued at $1,573,519.12. The trade was a 25.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Avion Wealth grew its stake in CVS Health by 99.0% in the second quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 380 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in CVS Health by 72.1% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in CVS Health in the second quarter worth $30,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its stake in CVS Health by 119.8% in the first quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 455 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Front Row Advisors LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 436.5% in the second quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 456 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CVS. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on CVS Health from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on CVS Health from $80.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on CVS Health from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $91.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.57.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS stock opened at $81.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $102.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.64, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $75.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.57. CVS Health has a fifty-two week low of $43.56 and a fifty-two week high of $83.52.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $98.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.87 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 1.17%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. Analysts expect that CVS Health will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 23rd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.30%.

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.