Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of CVS Health Call Options (NYSE:CVS)

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 72,308 call options on the company. This is an increase of 70% compared to the typical volume of 42,554 call options.

CVS Health Trading Up 2.7 %

CVS stock opened at $64.59 on Friday. CVS Health has a 52 week low of $52.77 and a 52 week high of $83.25. The company has a market cap of $81.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.35, a PEG 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.47.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $91.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.21 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that CVS Health will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CVS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $59.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.40.

Institutional Trading of CVS Health

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C acquired a new position in CVS Health in the second quarter worth about $57,584,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 27.9% during the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 665,451 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $39,302,000 after acquiring an additional 145,158 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. lifted its stake in CVS Health by 192.0% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 438 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 1.6% in the first quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 1,084,256 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $86,480,000 after purchasing an additional 16,840 shares during the period. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new stake in CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at $151,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.