CVS Health Co. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.67 (NYSE:CVS)

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, September 20th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a dividend of 0.665 per share by the pharmacy operator on Friday, November 1st. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 21st.

CVS Health has raised its dividend by an average of 6.6% per year over the last three years. CVS Health has a payout ratio of 36.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect CVS Health to earn $7.28 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.66 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.5%.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS Health stock traded down $0.89 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $57.51. 5,630,611 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,896,779. The stock has a market cap of $72.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $58.34 and its 200 day moving average is $62.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.86. CVS Health has a 52-week low of $52.77 and a 52-week high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $91.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.41 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 1.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. Analysts predict that CVS Health will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Barclays decreased their price target on CVS Health from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on CVS Health from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on CVS Health in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $61.00 target price on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.10.

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.