Still buying cvs stock ?

[ancienbon]

As you all know, cvs stock had a very strong year . When I started with the company about 15 months ago, stock price was in the mid 50's. Now it is in the upper 90's. I wish I had bought more. Only contributed 2 percent of my biweekly pay. Now I have decided to contribute over 7 percent , hoping that price will keep going up.
will anyone be contributing more?

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[owlegrad]

I did five percent and didn't change it for this year.

I had a few customers tell me to sell my stock when we stopped selling cigarettes, I really wish I could rub their noses in it now. Mature I know.

 

[zelman]

Because of the discounted pricing, the only reason not to get it is if you predict a 15% price drop before you can sell the stock. I contribute 10%, but haven't done adequate analysis to justify it.

 

[maria1oh]

It's easy for a stock to drop 15%...but still wondering how do I sign up? Do I have to wait for enrollment period? I remember I ignored the first time but now I'm interested. Hopefully cvs stock will never become a rite aid stock!

 

[sosoo]

as more generics are coming in n prices higher, pharmacy stocks has more rooms to increase. though with espp its quite a gamble b/c u can't sell at will. after today i'm selling most of my espp shares. with a little left over set to expire june 2015, thats the end of espp for me.

 

[W19]

Do you guys/gals get a discount on the stock or do you get it just like everyone else at the market price?

 

[farmadiazepine]

I bought the max of $21,250 every year for the past 3 years of CVS stock through ESPP. I contributed 15% of my paycheck. My paychecks were so freaking small this past year since I was only working my base of 43 hours a week and contributing the max into my 401k.

I am very glad I contributed the max into ESPP every year. If I was still with the company, I would continue to contribute the max into ESPP. In my opinion, CVS stock is going to keep growing and growing. Although I hate the company with all my heart, I do recognize that the company is always 10 steps ahead of everyone else.

I still have shares from $34 a piece!

Contribute, contribute, contribute.

 

[zelman]

Do you guys/gals get a discount on the stock or do you get it just like everyone else at the market price?

You get it for 15% off the lower cost of the beginning or end of the offering period.

example:
you enroll before offering period starts in january
january 1 the stock price is $100
offering period ends at the end of june
june 30 the stock price is $120
the money taken out of your paycheck for those entire 6 months buys stocks at a price of $85 (15% off of $100)

 

[W19]

You get it for 15% off the lower cost of the beginning or end of the offering period.

example:
you enroll before offering period starts in january
january 1 the stock price is $100
offering period ends at the end of june
june 30 the stock price is $120
the money taken out of your paycheck for those entire 6 months buys stocks at a price of $85 (15% off of $100)

Wow! That's a good deal...

 

[zelman]

Wow! That's a good deal...

You can't sell it immediately, so it's not a great deal on a declining stock. But a less than 15% decline for a year makes it profitable.

 

[pezdispenser]

If you have paid off your student loans, I would max out the ESPP. It seems the more the company squeezes you the employee, the better the stock does. So just look at it as part of your total compensation package for all the crap you have to put up with in retail. It usually comes out to >$10k profit every year.

 

[W19]

You can't sell it immediately, so it's not a great deal on a declining stock. But a less than 15% decline for a year makes it profitable.

I have heard that CVS is not a good company for workers, but it is a good a good company for share holders. I would buy stock for the max allowed if I was working for them...

 

[VP_Pharm2004]

I have heard that CVS is not a good company for workers, but it is a good a good company for share holders. I would buy stock for the max allowed if I was working for them...

They'd drain the last drop of blood out of you... either you quit or die.

 

[W19]

As an employee, they'd drain the last drop of blood out of you... either you quit or die.

I heard that.... Work for 12-15 years, purchase the max amount of stock allowed, max out your 401k -- Once you accumulate $2 million net worth, then you semi retire... If we don't do that, we all will be slaves for big corporations until we die.

 

[Dr Wario]

I have been maxing out my espp for 5 years since becoming a pharmacist with the company but have been selling my shares and diversifying into other investments after the required holding periods. I would have had better returns if I had kept all of my shares but I also have good peace of mind that my profits are locked in and are now deployed in rental properties that are providing nice monthly cashflow.

 

[farmadiazepine]

I have been maxing out my espp for 5 years since becoming a pharmacist with the company but have been selling my shares and diversifying into other investments after the required holding periods. I would have had better returns if I had kept all of my shares but I also have good peace of mind that my profits are locked in and are now deployed in rental properties that are providing nice monthly cashflow.

It's too risky to keep all that money trapped in ESPP. After 6 months, sell it, and buy more. No one can predict if the stock is going to go up or go down. Who knows, in 10 years from now CVS can be the next Rite Aid or Eckerds or Thrift Drugs.

 

[Momus]

As you all know, cvs stock had a very strong year . When I started with the company about 15 months ago, stock price was in the mid 50's. Now it is in the upper 90's. I wish I had bought more. Only contributed 2 percent of my biweekly pay. Now I have decided to contribute over 7 percent , hoping that price will keep going up.
will anyone be contributing more?

This is how Enron employee loses everything. Dumbest thing in the world. Company goes buhbye - Lose your job, lose your savings. 7% = 1/2 of your max contribution. So, it the CVS stock tanks 50%, you lose 25% in your total portfolio. That's a brilliant idea.

If in 2014 it went down to $25, you would have the same thought, eh?

This is what I call - Buy high, and sell low mentality. "Hoping" is also a great investing strategy... You should replace hoping to gambling. It would have been the same thing.

 

[Dr Wario]

This is how Enron employee loses everything. Dumbest thing in the world. Company goes buhbye - Lose your job, lose your savings. 7% = 1/2 of your max contribution. So, it the CVS stock tanks 50%, you lose 25% in your total portfolio. That's a brilliant idea.

If in 2014 it went down to $25, you would have the same thought, eh?

This is what I call - Buy high, and sell low mentality. "Hoping" is also a great investing strategy... You should replace hoping to gambling. It would have been the same thing.

This is exactly why I don't feel so bad about selling my shares when possible, I keep my position at around 5-10% of my net worth.

 

[Aznfarmerboi]

as more generics are coming in n prices higher, pharmacy stocks has more rooms to increase. though with espp its quite a gamble b/c u can't sell at will. after today i'm selling most of my espp shares. with a little left over set to expire june 2015, thats the end of espp for me.

Actually, generics are leveling off which will go against the stock price because Wall Street won't see the growth in "profit margin" that they have saw the past few years.

On the other hand, Caremark, minute clinics, and specialty drugs will help it ...

I have been buying the max 21,500 as well. I stand to make 10k profit this year. One thing that I like is that it forces me to "save" because it essentially takes away 800 from each paycheck.

I am going to stop after this year to save some cash for marriage, house, and reserves for opportunities if there is going to be a major correction.

I did really well with American Airline (brought pre-merger) and am looking into energy now.

 

[farmadiazepine]

I would sell every 6 months, but now I am waiting until later this year to sell all my stock. It will be $100,000 plus or mins a few hundred or thousand, and then I am done with CVS for good! Do I ever wonder if I should hold onto it just in case it goes to $110 a share, or $120 a share, or higher? Hell no. That's like FOMO in investing. F*ck that. I'll take my wins and leave.

Remember, big companies can fail, and plenty have.

 

[BMBiology]

I see no reason why anyone wouldn't contribute the max each year. Just sell the second you can and assuming cvs doesn't go up or down (doubt it goes down this year unless a crash) take your $3000 extra per year then put it elsewhere. I'll take a guaranteed 15% over the current stock market any day.

It is more like 13.5% after inflation (2 years). You also have to pay state tax (9% in CA) and federal tax (15% capital gain tax) so it is more like $2200.

 

[Dr Wario]

It is more like 13.5% after inflation (2 years). You also have to pay state tax (9% in CA) and federal tax (15% capital gain tax) so it is more like $2200.

Actually the discount given is taxed at ordinary income rates, capital gains would apply to the portion of profit due to market appreciation.

 

[BMBiology]

^ I think the discount is taxed as capital gain if you hold it for 2 years from the date you started to buy. Less than 2 years then it is taxed as regular income tax, 28% instead of 15%.

I think that is how it works. Let me know otherwise.

 

[pezdispenser]

^ I think the discount is taxed as capital gain if you hold it for 2 years from the date you started to buy. Less than 2 years then it is taxed as regular income tax, 28% instead of 15%.

I think that is how it works. Let me know otherwise.

No, the discount is still taxed as regular income.

The advantage of holding the stock for 2 years from the grant date (beginning of offer period) is that when you get the price at the beginning of the offer period because it is LOWER than the price at the end of the offer period, then only the discount from the price at the BEGINNING is taxed as regular income. The rest will be a long-term capital gain.

If you sell before 2 years from the grant date, then the difference between the price at the END of the offer period and your discounted purchase price will be taxed as regular income, which is higher than the previous example. The rest will be a short- or long-term capital gain depending on how long you held the stock from end of the offer period (your purchase date).

Sources:
http://efs.fidelity.com/support/sps/article/article2.html
https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-too...s/Employee-Stock-Purchase-Plans/INF12047.html

 

[sosoo]

that sounds confusing. the gov't probably had it sort out so u won't profit as much.

 

[Sparda29]

I think the best thing would be to wait until the oil prices hit <$40/barrel and then invest heavy into oil companies.

 

[pezdispenser]

that sounds confusing. the gov't probably had it sort out so u won't profit as much.

Well it is to your advantage to get as much of the profit taxed at the long-term capital gains tax rate (15%) as possible. Because it is much better than the tax rate for regular income: marginal tax rate of 28% + 6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare.

That's what people are talking about when they say Warren Buffett and Mitt Romney who earn their money from investments, pay a lower tax RATE than wage earners.

 

[M0df]

I should have bought more, especially few years back, but I wanted to pay off loans quicker. Since the deadline to change anything for upcoming period was mid December, we should revisit this discussion closer to the next deadline! Who knows what the price will be in the summer.

 

[pezdispenser]

So I've never actually sold my stock and I obviously work for walgreens. With the market getting ever so closer to crashing I finally want to start deducting. Can someone tell me the difference between holding for 2 years vs the minimum 3 months?

Under the Walgreens ESPP, I don't think it is that important to hold for 2 years because the offer window used to calculate taxes how I described above is only 1 month, so there won't be that much difference in taxes unless the stock price moves up a lot during that 1 month when you bought the stock.

However, it is still good to wait at least 1 year so that the capital gain above the 10% discount gets taxed at the 15% long-term capital gains tax rate. (The 10% discount will get taxed at regular income tax rates).

I just sold some of mine today banking a $11k profit 🙂

 

[BMBiology]

I just sold some of mine today banking a $11k profit 🙂

Great job! In California, you would need to make 16 k in salary just to bring home 11 k. The best part is you didn't have to do anything. You didn't have to work long hours. You didn't have to work on the weekends. You didn't have to slave your life away.

 

[pezdispenser]

Great job! In California, you would need to make 16 k in salary just to bring home 11 k. The best part is you didn't have to do anything. You didn't have to work long hours. You didn't have to work on the weekends. You didn't have to slave your life away.

Oh I did plenty of hard work when I was in my 20s to pay off my student loans and start investing, but now it's time to relax and reap the harvest that I sowed 🙂 That's also why I recommend to people to pay off their student loans as fast as possible. Because once those are done, you have so much free cash to invest that you can do things like max out $22k ESPP, max out $18k 401(k), max out $5.5k Roth IRA and build wealth like crazy. In fact, I'm now working on paying off my mortgage, and once that's done, it's going to be ****ING AWESOME with like $60k/yr in free cash flow to invest, or if I want to, I could just use it as disposable income 🙂

 

[pezdispenser]

View attachment 188286
hey guys, just sold half of my stocks, what are numbers on the bottom mean?

Can you please provide the dates and stock prices for the beginning and end of the offer window in which you bought these shares?

 

[BMBiology]

Oh I did plenty of hard work when I was in my 20s to pay off my student loans and start investing, but now it's time to relax and reap the harvest that I sowed 🙂 That's also why I recommend to people to pay off their student loans as fast as possible. Because once those are done, you have so much free cash to invest that you can do things like max out $22k ESPP, max out $18k 401(k), max out $5.5k Roth IRA and build wealth like crazy. In fact, I'm now working on paying off my mortgage, and once that's done, it's going to be ******* AWESOME with like $60k/yr in free cash flow to invest, or if I want to, I could just use it as disposable income 🙂

I agree. The key is paying off your student loan. I am also doing what you are doing.

 

[farmadiazepine]

I am selling all of my CVS stock, just a little over 100k. I don't want to keep money in a company anymore that is deceitful and unethical. Also, I don't know why I feel like this today, but I see a alot of bad things happening to CVS in the future.

 

[BMBiology]

I am selling all of my CVS stock, just a little over 100k. I don't want to keep money in a company anymore that is deceitful and unethical. Also, I don't know why I feel like this today, but I see a alot of bad things happening to CVS in the future.

Are you also planning to sell your 401 k mutual funds? I am sure they have companies you would find unethical.

Never let your personal feeling get in the way of making money.

 

[dblock05]

Are you also planning to sell your 401 k mutual funds? I am sure they have companies you would find unethical.

Never let your personal feeling get in the way of making money.

Seriously, the hate has been unreal ever since he left the company.

 

[VP_Pharm2004]

Seriously, the hate has been unreal ever since he left the company.

That pretty much goes for anyone that has left the company. I have yet to meet an ex CVS or Walgreens employee say that they loved the company and wish they never left. The grass is definitely greener on the other side.

 

[dblock05]

That pretty much goes for anyone that has left the company. I have yet to meet an ex CVS or Walgreens employee say that they loved the company and wish they never left. The grass is definitely greener on the other side.

I'm sure it is greener on the other side but no one forced a gun to your head and made you be there. There are easier jobs out there and they usually pay less as well.

They pay more than other companies usually because its a more challenging job.

I just don't understand why every thread has to have so much bashing in it. This thread is about stocks for example...

 

[sosoo]

if u have student loans or mortgage payment, buying stocks is not right for u. the interests on those will offset any benefits u think u will gain from stocks, n then some taxes. so pay off all ur loans first. once ur out of debt, the opportunities will still be around. n if anything, it'll be healthier to invest than today's market. im seeing another recession looming.

 

[Momus]

if u have student loans or mortgage payment, buying stocks is not right for u. the interests on those will offset any benefits u think u will gain from stocks, n then some taxes. so pay off all ur loans first. once ur out of debt, the opportunities will still be around. n if anything, it'll be healthier to invest than today's market. im seeing another recession looming.

Depends on interest rate. Some debt (low rate mortgage/long gone 2% student loan) you can carry forever and dump the rest of your money to stocks. Almost 100% you will make more money than paying the debt early. Not all debts are stupid.

 

[W19]

People are buying CVS stock at market value, so if you get 15% discount, it's a good bargain IMO. Most companies usually give 10% for their ESPP... CVS stock has quarterly dividend, which is plus.

 

[SpartanLaser]

I sold all my stock (150+ shares) at $75 a share. Cries in corner now

 

[josh6718]

I'm sure it is greener on the other side but no one forced a gun to your head and made you be there. There are easier jobs out there and they usually pay less as well.

The market is not near what it was several years ago. Early 2000's if you wanted to find a new job, you could quit that day and find one the next.

The 'easier' jobs you refer to might be an option to someone single and willing to relocate to a rural area, but there are a large number of pharmacists who would leave (myself included) in an instant if there were more openings. While no one 'forced a gun to your head' the overwhelming student debt, home mortgage, and bills to pay keep people from leaving so quick.

As to the bashing, it's hard to be supportive of a company that has written up pharmacists for 'counseling too long', continues to cut hours at the risk of patient safety, turn a profession into 'McPharmacy' and destroying the values of the pharmacy

http://fortune.com/2014/05/16/study-cvs-has-largest-ceo-to-worker-pay-disparity-among-top-companies/

http://drugtopics.modernmedicine.co...ags/pharmacist-status/who-will-stand-pharmacy

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/rx/cvs_rx.html

 

[VP_Pharm2004]

^ couldn't have said it better myself, Josh!