CVS Health Co. (CVS) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.61 on May 1st

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS – Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 16th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of 0.605 per share by the pharmacy operator on Monday, May 1st. This represents a $2.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 20th.

CVS Health has increased its dividend by an average of 4.1% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 1 years. CVS Health has a payout ratio of 26.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect CVS Health to earn $9.11 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.42 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.6%.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $74.37 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $85.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.04. CVS Health has a 52 week low of $73.91 and a 52 week high of $109.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.84, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 8th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.07. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.29% and a return on equity of 15.75%. The business had revenue of $83.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that CVS Health will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $130.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. TheStreet raised shares of CVS Health from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Friday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $106.00 to $101.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.65.

Institutional Trading of CVS Health

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $259,000. Principal Street Partners LLC boosted its position in CVS Health by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC now owns 2,678 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC boosted its position in CVS Health by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 2,749 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $243,000. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $240,000. 77.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About CVS Health

(Get Rating)

CVS Health Corp. is a health solutions company, which engages in the provision of healthcare services. It operates through the following segments: Pharmacy Services, Retail or Long-Term Care, Health Care Benefits, and Corporate and Other. The Pharmacy Services segment focuses on the pharmacy benefit management solutions.