CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $68.55, but opened at $65.42. CVS Health shares last traded at $65.91, with a volume of 4,055,983 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CVS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised their price objective on shares of CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.83.

CVS Health Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The business's fifty day moving average price is $66.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.76. The company has a market capitalization of $82.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health by 255.7% during the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in CVS Health by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 137.5% during the 4th quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc now owns 805 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

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.