CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $63.85, but opened at $71.11. CVS Health shares last traded at $69.90, with a volume of 2,441,129 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Leerink Partners upgraded CVS Health from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on CVS Health from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.28.

CVS Health Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $65.10 and a 200-day moving average of $58.51. The company has a market cap of $87.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57.

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

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. CVS Health's payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In related news, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at $2,625,045.20. This represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at $556,941.90. The trade was a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of CVS Health

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 707 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 1,282 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC lifted its position in CVS Health by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 6,135 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 4,457 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CVS Health by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,706 shares of the pharmacy operator's stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.