CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

CVS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on CVS Health from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on CVS Health from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on CVS Health from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on CVS Health from $103.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $106.46.

CVS Health Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of CVS opened at $95.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.28 billion, a PE ratio of 25.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s fifty day moving average is $102.26 and its 200 day moving average is $87.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.87. CVS Health has a fifty-two week low of $63.30 and a fifty-two week high of $110.68.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.71. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.18% and a return on equity of 13.12%. The business had revenue of $106.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $100.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. CVS Health’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. CVS Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.900-8.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that CVS Health will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 23rd. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 70.37%.

Insider Activity at CVS Health

In other news, Director Larry Robbins sold 1,983,538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.45, for a total value of $187,345,164.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,213,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $586,842,501.45. This represents a 24.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 3,372,000 shares of company stock valued at $317,473,598 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 201.0% during the second quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 292 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in CVS Health in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new stake in CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Sankala Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key CVS Health News

Here are the key news stories impacting CVS Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CVS reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.58 per share, well above the $1.87 analyst consensus, while revenue rose 7.3% year over year to $106.1 billion. Management raised its 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to $7.90–$8.10, supported by improving performance at Aetna and strength in the retail business. CVS Health earnings and GLP-1 partnership article
• Positive Sentiment: The company expanded its collaboration with Eli Lilly on GLP-1 weight-management treatments. The initiative could help CVS combine its pharmacy, insurance and care-delivery assets to capture a larger role in the growing obesity-treatment market. CVS GLP-1 strategy article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have modestly increased their fair-value estimate for CVS from $111.92 to $114.88, reflecting more constructive views following the earnings results, although execution and policy risks remain. CVS fair value estimate article
• Neutral Sentiment: Healthcare was among the sectors receiving defensive ETF inflows, which may provide some broader investor support for CVS, but the flows were concentrated largely in broad-market funds, Treasuries and gold rather than being a company-specific catalyst. Weekly ETF flows article
• Negative Sentiment: Executives warned that Caremark pharmacy-benefit-management membership could decline in 2026 and that changes involving the 340B drug-pricing program may remain a headwind into 2027. These comments overshadowed the earnings beat and guidance increase by raising concerns about future revenue and profit growth. CVS earnings call risks article

CVS Health Company Profile

CVS Health Corporation is a diversified healthcare company that operates a large network of retail pharmacies, pharmacy benefit management services and health care solutions. Headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, the company traces its roots to the early 1960s and has grown into an integrated provider of prescription drugs, over‑the‑counter products, clinical services and health insurance offerings. Its operating model combines retail pharmacy locations and in‑store clinics with broader pharmacy and health plan capabilities.

Key business activities include CVS Pharmacy retail operations, MinuteClinic walk‑in medical clinics and HealthHUB locations that offer expanded clinical services.