CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $70.50.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CVS. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com downgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on CVS Health from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 25th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Garland Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in CVS Health by 0.3% in the second quarter. Garland Capital Management Inc. now owns 60,810 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,591,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 46,637 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,754,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in CVS Health by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,268 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in CVS Health by 2.5% in the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,458 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CVS Health Stock Down 2.8 %

CVS stock opened at $55.27 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.79. CVS Health has a 1-year low of $52.71 and a 1-year high of $83.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.55 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $95.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.72 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CVS Health will post 5.37 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 21st. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 67.51%.

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.