CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Price Target Lowered to $74.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) had its price objective decreased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $85.00 to $74.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the pharmacy operator’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. SVB Leerink reaffirmed a market perform rating and issued a $60.00 price target (down previously from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an outperform rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut CVS Health from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $87.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group downgraded shares of CVS Health from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $72.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $80.35.

CVS Health Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:CVS traded up $0.75 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $55.90. The stock had a trading volume of 23,946,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,498,538. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $72.77 and a 200 day moving average of $73.26. The company has a market capitalization of $70.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.82, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.56. CVS Health has a one year low of $53.70 and a one year high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $88.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.33 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 2.03%. CVS Health’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CVS Health will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 19th. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 46.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In related news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Edward J. Ludwig purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,059,916.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 5,081 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its stake in CVS Health by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 65,885 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $4,600,000 after buying an additional 3,874 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in CVS Health by 82.5% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,614 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 2,990 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 24.0% in the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 8,307 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $580,000 after acquiring an additional 1,606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 10,678,078 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $745,543,000 after purchasing an additional 266,650 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.