CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $75.3889.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CVS. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $84.00 price target (up previously from $76.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of CVS Health from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd.

CVS Health Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:CVS opened at $65.91 on Thursday. CVS Health has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $72.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $64.79 and a 200 day moving average of $64.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.58.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.35. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.17% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The company had revenue of $98.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. CVS Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CVS Health will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 22nd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 22nd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Guy P. Sansone purchased 1,570 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $63.70 per share, for a total transaction of $100,009.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,007 shares in the company, valued at $764,845.90. This represents a 15.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CVS Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,529,714 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $68,669,000 after purchasing an additional 15,561 shares in the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at $207,000. FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 141,616 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $6,357,000 after purchasing an additional 7,143 shares in the last quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP purchased a new position in CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at $253,000. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 903.1% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 768,028 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $33,295,000 after purchasing an additional 691,464 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.