CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Receives $70.41 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $70.41.

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Argus set a $77.00 target price on CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. The trade was a 320.65 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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. This represents a 47.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CVS. Dodge & Cox increased its holdings in CVS Health by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,147,054,000 after purchasing an additional 7,075,209 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in CVS Health by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,739,927,000 after acquiring an additional 12,819,148 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,527,909 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,554,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,989,066 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in CVS Health by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,051,540 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,211,582,000 after acquiring an additional 689,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake in CVS Health by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,666,401 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,196,989,000 after purchasing an additional 1,212,126 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CVS Health Stock Performance

Shares of CVS Health stock opened at $63.54 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. CVS Health has a 52 week low of $43.56 and a 52 week high of $74.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $63.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.01.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. Sell-side analysts expect that CVS Health will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 72.68%.

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.