CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $89.44.

Several brokerages have commented on CVS. Barclays began coverage on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. HSBC began coverage on shares of CVS Health in a report on Friday, December 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th.

CVS Health Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE CVS opened at $69.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.74, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.52. CVS Health has a 1 year low of $64.41 and a 1 year high of $83.25. The business’s 50-day moving average is $75.42 and its 200 day moving average is $73.70.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.11. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The business had revenue of $93.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.99 earnings per share. CVS Health’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that CVS Health will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CVS Health news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total value of $2,267,947.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of CVS Health

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Atticus Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 149.0% in the fourth quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 366 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 573.2% in the fourth quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 377 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 111.5% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 461 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.