Analysts Set CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) PT at $70.41

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $70.41.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CVS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

CVS Health Stock Down 5.9 %

CVS Health stock opened at $63.54 on Friday. CVS Health has a one year low of $43.56 and a one year high of $74.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $63.47 and a 200 day moving average of $58.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $80.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that CVS Health will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total transaction of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its stake in CVS Health by 255.7% in the fourth quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in CVS Health in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

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.