Brokerages Set CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) PT at $73.24

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $73.24.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CVS shares. Mizuho cut their price target on CVS Health from $86.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Argus cut their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $100.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on CVS Health in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $61.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs downgraded CVS Health from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of CVS Health from $95.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in CVS Health by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,696,285 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $9,293,299,000 after acquiring an additional 533,659 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 43,776,874 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,491,643,000 after purchasing an additional 3,232,172 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in CVS Health by 12.5% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 37,917,923 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,024,334,000 after buying an additional 4,226,225 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter valued at $1,092,040,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in CVS Health by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 13,143,822 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,048,351,000 after purchasing an additional 184,297 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Price Performance

CVS Health stock opened at $58.75 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.75 billion, a PE ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.52. CVS Health has a 12-month low of $52.77 and a 12-month high of $83.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $58.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $91.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.41 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 2.03%. CVS Health’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CVS Health will post 7 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 22nd were given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 22nd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.53%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 46.75%.

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.