CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Stock Price Up 2.9% – Time to Buy?

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)’s share price was up 2.9% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $53.95 and last traded at $53.85. Approximately 3,102,539 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 13,178,004 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CVS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded CVS Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $60.00 to $66.00 in a report on Monday, November 18th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on CVS Health from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.71.

CVS Health Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.21. The company has a market capitalization of $68.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.88, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.59.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.86%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is 67.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 11,897,034 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $748,085,000 after acquiring an additional 3,071,613 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 3.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,989,066 shares during the period. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $121,987,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health by 5,864.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,730,343 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $108,804,000 after buying an additional 1,701,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC grew its position in CVS Health by 1,470.2% in the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 1,396,464 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $87,810,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307,531 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.