CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $78.25.

CVS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on CVS Health from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Bernstein Bank reduced their price target on CVS Health from $78.00 to $72.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Zacks Research cut CVS Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on CVS Health from $72.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other news, Director Anne A. Finucane sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.02, for a total value of $532,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 22,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,573,519.12. This represents a 25.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in CVS Health by 67.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 286,990 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $12,883,000 after acquiring an additional 115,603 shares during the period. 111 Capital bought a new stake in CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at $790,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in CVS Health by 41.4% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 4,719 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,381 shares during the period. Finally, Marcum Wealth LLC raised its stake in CVS Health by 30.2% in the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 11,354 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $769,000 after acquiring an additional 2,631 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of CVS opened at $77.48 on Friday. CVS Health has a 52-week low of $43.56 and a 52-week high of $77.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.27 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.60.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.35. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.51% and a net margin of 1.17%.The firm had revenue of $98.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. CVS Health has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.300-6.400 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that CVS Health will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 23rd will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 23rd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.30%.

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.