Leerink Partnrs Lowers Earnings Estimates for CVS Health

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) – Equities research analysts at Leerink Partnrs reduced their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for CVS Health in a research note issued on Saturday, October 19th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now expects that the pharmacy operator will earn $1.49 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.59. The consensus estimate for CVS Health’s current full-year earnings is $6.51 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for CVS Health’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.82 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.86 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $1.80 EPS.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $91.23 billion for 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.21 earnings per share.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $66.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $82.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CVS Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.89.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS stock opened at $56.78 on Tuesday. CVS Health has a one year low of $52.77 and a one year high of $83.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $59.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.54.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.68%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 43,776,874 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,491,643,000 after buying an additional 3,232,172 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,917,923 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,024,334,000 after buying an additional 4,226,225 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in CVS Health by 1.4% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in CVS Health by 132.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 12,936,388 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $764,023,000 after purchasing an additional 7,382,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in CVS Health by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,963,508 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $555,406,000 after purchasing an additional 389,166 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.