CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Shares Up 1.3% – Still a Buy?

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) shot up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $58.46 and last traded at $58.06. 3,437,971 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 13,171,708 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CVS shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on CVS Health from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded CVS Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $60.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CVS Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.12.

CVS Health Trading Down 0.5 %

The company has a market cap of $71.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.27 and a 200 day moving average of $56.17. 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 released 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 during 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%. CVS Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.21 EPS. On average, analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.71%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CVS. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in CVS Health during the third quarter worth $25,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in CVS Health in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in CVS Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in CVS Health during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.