CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $76.75.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group cut CVS Health from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $85.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. TD Cowen cut CVS Health from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $95.00 to $77.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of CVS Health from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $87.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of CVS Health from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other news, Director Edward J. Ludwig bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 21,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,165,424.40. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other CVS Health news, Director Edward J. Ludwig purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,165,424.40. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total transaction of $2,267,947.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at $3,059,916.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 74.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 43,213 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $3,017,000 after purchasing an additional 18,385 shares in the last quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 1.6% during the third quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 50,488 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $3,525,000 after buying an additional 774 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 2.3% in the third quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 10,405 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $726,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 19,355 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $1,351,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the period. Finally, Riverpoint Wealth Management Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at $218,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $56.00. 15,406,430 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,883,982. CVS Health has a twelve month low of $53.70 and a twelve month high of $83.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a market capitalization of $70.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.77, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. The business's 50-day moving average price is $70.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.73.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.38). CVS Health had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The firm had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. CVS Health's revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CVS Health will post 7.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. CVS Health's payout ratio is currently 46.75%.

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.