CVS Health Co . (NYSE: CVS – Get the Assessment) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one brokerages that currently cover the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $119.11.
Several research firms recently weighed in on CVS. Raymond James reduced their price objective on CVS Health from $120.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Sunday, November 6th. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price objective on CVS Health from $117.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on CVS Health from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 7th. Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on CVS Health from $128.00 to $113.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on CVS Health from $130.00 to $125.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 3rd.
CVS Health Trading Down 0.3%
Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $93.19 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $122.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.69. CVS Health has a 12-month low of $86.28 and a 12-month high of $111.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.94, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.18.
CVS Health (NYSE: CVS – Get the Assessment) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 2nd. The pharmacy operator reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $81.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.53 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 1.00%. sell-side analysts predict that CVS Health will post 8.62 EPS for the current year.
CVS Health raises dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 20th will be paid a $0.605 dividend. This is an increase from CVS Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents an annual dividend of $2.42 and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 19th. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.62%.
Internal activity
In other news, EVP Thomas M. Moriarty sold 137,466 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.36, for a total value of $13,521,155.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 608,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,815,568.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which can be accessed via this connection. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.
Institutional inflows and outflows
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CVS. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 105.8% in the third quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 284 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Karp Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Coston McIsaac & Partners purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC raised its holdings in CVS Health by 63.6% during the third quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 368 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Win Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 60.1% during the second quarter. Win Advisors Inc. now owns 405 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. 77.29% of the shares are currently owned by institutional investors.
CVS Health Company Profile
CVS Health Corporation provides health services in the United States. The company’s Health Care Benefits segment offers traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services. It serves employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, government entities, government-sponsored plans, labor groups, and immigrants.
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