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

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $72.10.

CVS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Baird R W raised CVS Health to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of CVS Health from $101.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.8 %

CVS opened at $57.98 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.00. CVS Health has a 1-year low of $52.77 and a 1-year high of $83.25. The stock has a market cap of $72.79 billion, a PE ratio of 10.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.53.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $91.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.41 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.98% and a return on equity of 12.72%. CVS Health’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.21 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect 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 was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.59%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in CVS Health by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 19,225 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,410,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 0.7% during the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 22,268 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,776,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Landmark Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,166 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Garland Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 0.3% in the second quarter. Garland Capital Management Inc. now owns 60,810 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,591,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sepio Capital LP raised its position in CVS Health by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Sepio Capital LP now owns 9,907 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $782,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

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.