CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) Given Consensus Rating of "Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• CVS Health Corporation has received a consensus rating of "Buy" from 22 analysts, with an average 1-year price target of $77.56.
• Recent brokerage reviews included Wells Fargo raising its price objective to $84.00 and Barclays upgrading their target to $80.00.
• CVS Health reported quarterly earnings of $1.81 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.665 per share.

CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Buy" by the twenty-two analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nineteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $77.9444.

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Baird R W raised shares of CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Bernstein Bank dropped their target price on CVS Health from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In related news, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.02, for a total value of $532,650.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,573,519.12. The trade was a 25.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CVS. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 115,253 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $5,174,000 after purchasing an additional 2,785 shares during the period. AXA S.A. raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 46.1% during the fourth quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 1,070,959 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $48,075,000 after purchasing an additional 337,738 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of CVS Health by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,321,493 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $328,554,000 after purchasing an additional 639,325 shares during the period. Black Maple Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $584,000. Finally, BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. bought a new stake in CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth $8,080,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS Health stock traded up $0.15 on Monday, hitting $73.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,988,456 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,623,356. The firm has a market cap of $93.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.62. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $66.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.89. CVS Health has a one year low of $43.56 and a one year high of $74.53.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $98.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.87 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.17% and a return on equity of 10.51%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CVS Health will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 22nd. CVS Health's payout ratio is 74.30%.

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.