CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Receives “Overweight” Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $78.00 price objective on the pharmacy operator’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on CVS. UBS Group raised CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $79.00 in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Robert W. Baird raised CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on CVS Health from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $84.00 price objective (up previously from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Bernstein Bank lowered their price objective on CVS Health from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.56.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $71.57 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. CVS Health has a 12 month low of $43.56 and a 12 month high of $72.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.42.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.35. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.17% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The business had revenue of $98.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. Equities analysts expect that CVS Health will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd were given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 22nd. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 74.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Guy P. Sansone purchased 1,570 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $63.70 per share, with a total value of $100,009.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,007 shares in the company, valued at $764,845.90. This trade represents a 15.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FineMark National Bank & Trust raised its position in CVS Health by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 9,576 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $661,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in CVS Health by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 15,059 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,031,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in CVS Health by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 1,682 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its position in CVS Health by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 20,705 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,403,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in CVS Health by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,674 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

About CVS Health

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.