CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Hits New 1-Year High After Earnings Beat

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $72.51 and last traded at $69.42, with a volume of 20871924 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $66.71.

The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.63. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. The company had revenue of $94.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. CVS Health’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CVS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on CVS Health from $73.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

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

Institutional Trading of CVS Health

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in CVS Health by 0.8% during 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. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in CVS Health by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 1.0% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 17,114 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,159,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in CVS Health by 3.7% in the first quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,930 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 7.4% during the first quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN now owns 2,610 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Trading Down 2.8 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $66.72 and a 200-day moving average of $58.83. 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 company has a market capitalization of $85.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57.

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.