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

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $74.74.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Barclays raised CVS Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $66.85 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $58.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.20. CVS Health has a twelve month low of $52.77 and a twelve month high of $83.25. The company has a market cap of $83.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.54. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $91.23 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. Research analysts predict that CVS Health will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.75%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 19,225 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its stake in CVS Health by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 22,268 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,776,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Garland Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in CVS Health by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Garland Capital Management Inc. now owns 60,810 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,591,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in CVS Health by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Silverlake Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in CVS Health by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,203 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $894,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.