CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Reaches New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) reached a new 52-week low on Friday after Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on the stock from $68.00 to $58.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. CVS Health traded as low as $52.71 and last traded at $53.05, with a volume of 4140766 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.09.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on CVS. Evercore ISI raised their price target on CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on CVS Health from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.44.

Institutional Trading of CVS Health

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in CVS Health by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,527,909 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,554,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989,066 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in CVS Health by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 43,776,874 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,491,643,000 after buying an additional 3,232,172 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in CVS Health by 12.5% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,917,923 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,024,334,000 after purchasing an additional 4,226,225 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in CVS Health by 1.4% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,143,822 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,048,351,000 after purchasing an additional 184,297 shares during the period. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 13,135,308 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $825,948,000 after acquiring an additional 198,920 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CVS Health Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $59.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.76.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $95.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.72 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.00%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.51%.

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.