CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Trading Up 3.2% - Should You Buy?

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) shot up 3.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $63.14 and last traded at $63.31. 2,559,035 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 11,280,137 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on CVS. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on CVS Health from $51.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded CVS Health from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on CVS Health from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.94.

CVS Health Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50 day moving average of $65.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.60. The firm has a market cap of $80.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.48, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.60.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.63. The business had revenue of $94.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $93.07 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd were given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value 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 $556,941.90. This represents a 47.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in CVS Health by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 118,335,394 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $8,017,223,000 after purchasing an additional 969,027 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 73,459,122 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $4,976,856,000 after buying an additional 3,353,223 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $2,739,927,000 after buying an additional 12,819,148 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,051,540 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,211,582,000 after acquiring an additional 689,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,666,401 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,196,989,000 after acquiring an additional 1,212,126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.