CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Rating Increased to Outperform at Robert W. Baird

Key Points

• CVS Health received an upgrade from Robert W. Baird, raising its rating from "neutral" to "outperform" with a target price increase from $71 to $82, indicating a potential upside of 24.41% from the current price.
• A majority of analysts have a positive outlook on CVS, with nineteen analysts giving a buy rating, and a current average target price of $75.68.
• Institutional investors hold 80.66% of CVS shares, with notable increases in holdings from firms like Vanguard Group and Capital World Investors.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Robert W. Baird from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $82.00 price objective on the pharmacy operator's stock, up from their prior price objective of $71.00. Robert W. Baird's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 16.29% from the company's previous close.

CVS has been the subject of several other research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on CVS Health from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group cut their price objective on CVS Health from $71.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on CVS Health from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on CVS Health from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.67.

CVS Health Trading Up 0.5%

CVS Health stock traded up $0.3430 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $70.5130. The company had a trading volume of 2,269,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,881,317. CVS Health has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $72.51. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $65.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.82. The firm has a market cap of $89.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.58.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $98.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94.87 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 1.17%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that CVS Health will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, Director Guy P. Sansone bought 1,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $63.70 per share, with a total value of $100,009.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 12,007 shares in the company, valued at $764,845.90. This represents a 15.04% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.22% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CVS Health

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CVS Health in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,358,698,000. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 26.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $2,739,927,000 after buying an additional 12,819,148 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 87.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 9,927,650 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $672,598,000 after buying an additional 4,632,530 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 73,459,122 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $4,976,856,000 after buying an additional 3,353,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 23,532,479 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $1,623,270,000 after buying an additional 3,118,626 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.