CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $73.11.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. 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. Truist Financial boosted their target price on CVS Health from $66.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on CVS Health from $61.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday.

CVS Health Price Performance

CVS stock opened at $54.65 on Tuesday. CVS Health has a 52 week low of $52.77 and a 52 week high of $83.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.10. CVS Health had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 1.98%. The company had revenue of $91.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that CVS Health will post 6.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.87%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CVS. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in CVS Health in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in CVS Health during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. First Community Trust NA grew its holdings in CVS Health by 116.2% in the second quarter. First Community Trust NA now owns 562 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 11,840.0% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 597 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Company Profile

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.