Mizuho Cuts CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Price Target to $72.00

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) had its price objective cut by Mizuho from $86.00 to $72.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the pharmacy operator’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on CVS. StockNews.com cut CVS Health from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group downgraded CVS Health from a buy rating to a neutral rating and reduced their target price for the company from $85.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. SVB Leerink reaffirmed a market perform rating and issued a $60.00 price objective (down from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $83.00 to $76.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $80.35.

CVS Health Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE:CVS traded up $0.75 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $55.90. 23,946,075 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,498,538. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. CVS Health has a fifty-two week low of $53.70 and a fifty-two week high of $83.25. The company has a market capitalization of $70.18 billion, a PE ratio of 9.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.26.

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

CVS Health Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,765 shares in the company, 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 other news, Director Edward J. Ludwig purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,165,424.40. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total value of $2,267,947.35. Following the transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CVS Health

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,696,285 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $9,293,299,000 after purchasing an additional 533,659 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in CVS Health by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 40,544,702 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,201,410,000 after buying an additional 119,631 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 33,691,698 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,660,298,000 after buying an additional 10,837,801 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,487,238 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,919,159,000 after acquiring an additional 6,194,441 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 2.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,214,296 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $992,442,000 after acquiring an additional 305,564 shares in the last quarter. 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.