Analysts Set CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) PT at $71.94

Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $71.47.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CVS shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on CVS Health from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Mizuho increased their price target on CVS Health from $70.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $69.42 on Tuesday. CVS Health has a twelve month low of $43.56 and a twelve month high of $72.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $66.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.87. The company has a market capitalization of $87.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.63. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. The firm had revenue of $94.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. CVS Health’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that CVS Health will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CVS Health

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at $839,574,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,739,927,000 after acquiring an additional 12,819,148 shares in the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers lifted its position in CVS Health by 2,998.1% in the 4th quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 11,385,950 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $511,115,000 after acquiring an additional 11,018,438 shares in the last quarter. Dodge & Cox increased its holdings in CVS Health by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,147,054,000 after purchasing an additional 7,075,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 49.3% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $880,319,000 after purchasing an additional 6,475,271 shares during the last quarter. 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.