CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Reaches New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• CVS Health shares have reached a new 52-week high at $77.54, with analysts suggesting a positive outlook as various firms upgrade their price targets.
• The company reported $1.81 earnings per share, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.665 to be paid in November.
• Currently, CVS Health maintains a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74 and a market cap of $97.85 billion, indicating solid financial standing in the market.

CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $77.54 and last traded at $77.34, with a volume of 2627860 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $75.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on CVS shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of CVS Health from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.25.

CVS Health Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $97.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.62. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $69.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.13.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $98.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. Research analysts expect that CVS Health Corporation will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 23rd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.30%.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In related news, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 22,156 shares in the company, valued at $1,573,519.12. This represents a 25.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new position in CVS Health during the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 18.4% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 229,903 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $15,828,000 after buying an additional 35,809 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 52,029 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $3,589,000 after buying an additional 1,858 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in CVS Health by 2.6% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 94,214 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $6,495,000 after buying an additional 2,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH bought a new position in CVS Health during the second quarter worth $294,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.