CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Stock Price Breaks Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)’s share price crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $88.94 and traded as high as $89.08. CVS Health shares last traded at $89.0330, with a volume of 15,100,658 shares traded.

CVS Health News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting CVS Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded CVS to Rank #2 (Buy), citing improving optimism about the company’s earnings prospects. Article: All You Need to Know About CVS Health Rating Upgrade to Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Incoming CVS Pharmacy CEO Prem Shah reportedly purchased about $2 million of CVS shares, a notable show of confidence from an executive expected to lead one of the businesses after the separation. Article: CVS Health’s Future Pharmacy CEO Just Bought $2 Million of Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: CVS has announced plans to split into two companies by 2028. The restructuring could let each business focus more clearly on its operations, but the companies’ structure and the benefits to shareholders remain important unanswered questions. Article: CVS Health Announces Plan to Split Into Two Companies
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst estimates have become more cautious as the separation plan is factored in. One fair-value estimate was trimmed from $116.28 to $113.76, with execution risk and valuation concerns weighing on the outlook. Article: CVS Health Stock Fair Value Edges Lower on Separation Risk and Analyst Caution

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on CVS. Wall Street Zen cut CVS Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on CVS Health from $108.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on CVS Health from $118.00 to $107.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets set a $112.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.25.

CVS Health Trading Up 4.4%

The stock has a market cap of $113.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50 day moving average is $90.12 and its 200 day moving average is $88.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $108.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $104.72 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 2.62%. CVS Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that CVS Health Corporation will post 8.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.6650 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is presently 30.97%.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, EVP Prem Shah purchased 23,855 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $83.89 per share, with a total value of $2,001,195.95. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 88,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,425,607.24. This trade represents a 36.89% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 2nd quarter valued at $12,747,462,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in CVS Health by 26.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 74,927,064 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $7,751,205,000 after acquiring an additional 15,604,883 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in CVS Health by 49.8% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 33,801,113 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,496,725,000 after acquiring an additional 11,233,381 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in CVS Health by 148.0% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 23,188,670 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,398,868,000 after acquiring an additional 13,836,701 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health in the second quarter valued at $1,217,558,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

About CVS Health

CVS Health is a U.S.-based health care company that operates retail pharmacies, provides pharmacy benefit management services, and offers health insurance and other health services. Its businesses include CVS Pharmacy, pharmacy benefit manager CVS Caremark, and Aetna, its health benefits division. The company also provides care through MinuteClinic walk-in clinics and health care businesses including Oak Street Health and Signify Health. Its services span prescription fulfillment, pharmacy benefit management, health insurance, primary care, and in-home and community-based care.