CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Stock Price Down 11.2% – Should You Sell?

Shares of CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) fell 11.2% during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as low as $77.33 and last traded at $81.1960. Approximately 6,524,275 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 8,306,744 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.41.

Key Headlines Impacting CVS Health

Here are the key news stories impacting CVS Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CVS reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.09 per share and revenue of $108.4 billion, both ahead of analyst estimates. Revenue increased 5.4% year over year. CVS Q3 results and guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its 2026 outlook, including adjusted EPS guidance to at least $8.20 from a prior range of $7.90–$8.10, and operating cash flow guidance to at least $15.5 billion from at least $11.5 billion. CVS Q3 results and guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: CVS plans to separate its retail pharmacy business from its insurance and pharmacy-benefit operations into two public companies, with completion targeted for the first half of 2028. CVS says the businesses should have investment-grade ratings and strong free cash flow, but the benefits will depend on execution. CVS separation announcement
• Negative Sentiment: The separation reverses CVS’s strategy of combining pharmacy, benefits and insurance operations. Investors appear concerned about the breakup’s execution, allocation of debt and the loss of potential advantages from operating as an integrated healthcare company; the plan weighed on the stock despite the earnings beat. Market reaction to CVS split plan

Analyst Ratings Changes

CVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $112.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered CVS Health from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on CVS Health from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets set a $112.00 price objective on CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.74.

CVS Health Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.87. The firm has a market cap of $102.64 billion, a PE ratio of 21.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.58.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $108.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $104.69 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 13.12% and a net margin of 1.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CVS Health Corporation will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 22nd were given a $0.6650 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 22nd. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 70.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 7,550 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 964 shares in the last quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 85.7% in the third quarter. Consolidated Investment Group LLC now owns 39,000 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,342,000 after purchasing an additional 18,000 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 7.2% in the third quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 4,123 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 9.8% in the third quarter. Leuthold Group LLC now owns 45,227 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,876,000 after purchasing an additional 4,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulcrum Asset Management LLP lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 334.1% in the third quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 26,043 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,268,000 after acquiring an additional 20,044 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Company Profile

CVS Health Corporation (NYSE: CVS) is a diversified health care company that provides pharmacy, insurance and health services in the United States. Its businesses serve consumers, employers, health plans and health care providers through pharmacies, benefit programs, insurance coverage and clinical care services.

The company’s Pharmacy Services segment, led by CVS Caremark, manages prescription drug benefits for employers, insurers and government programs. CVS Pharmacy operates retail pharmacies and health-focused stores that dispense prescriptions and offer over-the-counter products, health and wellness merchandise, immunizations and related services.