CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Upgraded to “Buy” by TD Cowen

TD Cowen upgraded shares of CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $85.00 price target on the pharmacy operator’s stock, up from their prior price target of $59.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on CVS. Barclays dropped their price objective on CVS Health from $65.00 to $63.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of CVS Health from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on CVS Health from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a neutral rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $73.40.

CVS Health Price Performance

CVS Health stock traded up $1.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $64.59. 16,313,877 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,032,696. The company’s fifty day moving average is $58.60 and its 200-day moving average is $61.58. The firm has a market cap of $81.08 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.86. CVS Health has a 52 week low of $52.77 and a 52 week high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $91.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $91.41 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 12.72% and a net margin of 1.98%. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CVS Health will post 6.51 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.75%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new stake in CVS Health during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $57,584,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 27.9% in the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 665,451 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $39,302,000 after acquiring an additional 145,158 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 192.0% during the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 438 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 1.6% during the first quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 1,084,256 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $86,480,000 after purchasing an additional 16,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter worth about $151,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

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.