CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Trading Up 1.1% – Still a Buy?

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) shares were up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $52.25 and last traded at $52.15. Approximately 1,963,067 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 13,839,423 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CVS shares. Mizuho lowered their price target on CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on CVS Health from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CVS Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.71.

CVS Health Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $65.37 billion, a PE ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $51.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.44.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The firm had revenue of $95.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.12%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,268 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 27,625 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,737,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Widmann Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 11,506 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.