CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-two research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $71.94.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial increased their price target on CVS Health from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Argus set a $77.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of CVS Health from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of CVS Health

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CVS. North Capital Inc. bought a new stake in CVS Health in the 1st quarter worth approximately $216,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,452,700 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $98,420,000 after purchasing an additional 29,278 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 108,312 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $7,338,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CVS Health during the 1st quarter valued at $207,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 248.0% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 282,232 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $19,121,000 after purchasing an additional 201,120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company's stock.

CVS Health Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of CVS Health stock opened at $64.91 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $66.45 and its 200-day moving average is $58.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. CVS Health has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $71.45.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. Equities analysts anticipate that CVS Health will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. CVS Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.68%.

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.

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