CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Price Target Raised to $81.00

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) had its price objective increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $80.00 to $81.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the pharmacy operator’s stock.

CVS has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Edward Jones upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Four investment 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.00.

CVS Health Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $65.20 on Tuesday. CVS Health has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $80.75. The company has a market capitalization of $82.21 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.61. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $52.11 and a 200-day moving average of $56.18.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. On average, equities analysts predict that CVS Health will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 72.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at $2,625,045.20. The trade was a 320.65 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CVS Health

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC lifted its position in CVS Health by 255.7% in the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of CVS Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

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.