CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Downgraded by TD Cowen to “Hold”

TD Cowen cut shares of CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $59.00 price target on the pharmacy operator’s stock, down from their prior price target of $99.00.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America dropped their target price on CVS Health from $95.00 to $77.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Leerink Partnrs lowered CVS Health from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on CVS Health from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of CVS Health from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $87.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $72.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CVS Health currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $77.55.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $55.74 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $71.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.09. 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 capitalization of $69.97 billion, a PE ratio of 9.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.38). CVS Health had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 2.03%. The business had revenue of $88.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. CVS Health’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CVS Health will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.77%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 46.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Addison Capital Co boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 19.5% in the first quarter. Addison Capital Co now owns 23,336 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,861,000 after acquiring an additional 3,816 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in CVS Health by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,110,102 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $168,299,000 after purchasing an additional 82,281 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in CVS Health by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 136,676 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $10,901,000 after purchasing an additional 3,476 shares during the last quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in CVS Health by 2.6% in the first quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 32,574 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,598,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 6.8% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 14,557 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,161,000 after buying an additional 926 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.