CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Trading Up 2.7% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) were up 2.7% during mid-day trading on Monday after Evercore ISI raised their price target on the stock from $60.00 to $65.00. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the stock. CVS Health traded as high as $56.77 and last traded at $56.04. Approximately 3,148,189 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 13,225,995 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.55.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on CVS Health from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on CVS Health from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.12.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 34.8% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 11,897,034 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $748,085,000 after buying an additional 3,071,613 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP raised its holdings in CVS Health by 7,567.7% in the 4th quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 2,402,901 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $107,866,000 after acquiring an additional 2,371,563 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,527,909 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,554,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,989,066 shares during the period. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the 3rd quarter worth $121,987,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in CVS Health by 5,864.2% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,730,343 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $108,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,701,331 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CVS Health Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $72.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.58, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50-day moving average is $51.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.19.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.01. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The business had revenue of $95.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.51%.

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.