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

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors acquired 72,308 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 70% compared to the typical volume of 42,554 call options.

CVS Health Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of CVS opened at $64.61 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $58.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.58. The stock has a market cap of $81.11 billion, a PE ratio of 11.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. CVS Health has a 52-week low of $52.77 and a 52-week high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $91.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.41 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.98% and a return on equity of 12.72%. CVS Health’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. Research analysts forecast that CVS Health will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.12%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 46.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 0.5% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in CVS Health by 8.0% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 43,776,874 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,491,643,000 after buying an additional 3,232,172 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 12.5% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,917,923 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,024,334,000 after acquiring an additional 4,226,225 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,143,822 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,048,351,000 after acquiring an additional 184,297 shares during the period. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 132.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 12,936,388 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $764,023,000 after acquiring an additional 7,382,931 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of CVS Health from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on CVS Health from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.40.

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.