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

CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 37,560 call options on the company. This is an increase of 59% compared to the average daily volume of 23,606 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on CVS. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $82.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Argus lifted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Leerink Partners raised their price target on CVS Health from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on CVS Health from $89.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $75.00 to $90.00 in a report on Friday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.86.

CVS Health Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of CVS Health stock traded up $1.82 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $81.91. 4,096,064 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,633,214. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 215.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $78.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.51. CVS Health has a 1-year low of $52.34 and a 1-year high of $85.15.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $102.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.85 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 0.12% and a return on equity of 11.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.09 earnings per share. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.550-6.650 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CVS Health will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 22nd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 700.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in CVS Health by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 120,399,131 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $8,305,132,000 after purchasing an additional 2,063,737 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 2.1% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 68,382,158 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $5,155,380,000 after buying an additional 1,419,575 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 58,938,286 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $4,443,357,000 after buying an additional 149,701 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in CVS Health by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,635,233 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,966,083,000 after buying an additional 675,824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its stake in CVS Health by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,692,203 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,012,347,000 after acquiring an additional 302,499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

About CVS Health

CVS Health Corporation is a diversified healthcare company that operates a large network of retail pharmacies, pharmacy benefit management services and health care solutions. Headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, the company traces its roots to the early 1960s and has grown into an integrated provider of prescription drugs, over‑the‑counter products, clinical services and health insurance offerings. Its operating model combines retail pharmacy locations and in‑store clinics with broader pharmacy and health plan capabilities.

Key business activities include CVS Pharmacy retail operations, MinuteClinic walk‑in medical clinics and HealthHUB locations that offer expanded clinical services.