CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $89.44.

A number of analysts have recently commented on CVS shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on CVS Health from $83.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. SVB Leerink began coverage on CVS Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com lowered CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total value of $2,267,947.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CVS. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Atticus Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 149.0% during the 4th quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 366 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 573.2% during the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 377 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE CVS opened at $69.39 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $75.42 and a 200-day moving average of $73.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.52. CVS Health has a 52 week low of $64.41 and a 52 week high of $83.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.86.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.11. CVS Health had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 2.33%. The business had revenue of $93.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.99 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CVS Health will post 8.32 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.18%.

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.