CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Given “Outperform” Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada restated their outperform rating on shares of CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $68.00 price target on the pharmacy operator’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on CVS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of CVS Health from $101.00 to $86.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays lowered their price target on CVS Health from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen cut CVS Health from a buy rating to a hold rating and cut their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on CVS Health from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Argus cut their price target on CVS Health from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $72.48.

CVS Health Stock Up 3.3 %

CVS Health stock opened at $59.30 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. CVS Health has a 1-year low of $52.77 and a 1-year high of $83.25. The company has a market cap of $74.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.52.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 1.98%. CVS Health’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that CVS Health will post 6.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 22nd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CVS. USA Financial Formulas boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 573.2% during the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 377 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in CVS Health by 192.0% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 438 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.