CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Earns “Buy” Rating from Truist Financial

Truist Financial reissued their buy rating on shares of CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) in a research note released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $66.00 price objective on the pharmacy operator’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $90.00.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of CVS Health from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded CVS Health from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and cut their price target for the company from $87.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded CVS Health from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on CVS Health from $83.00 to $76.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $78.00 price target for the company. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $80.35.

CVS Health Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:CVS traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $55.90. 23,946,075 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,498,538. The company’s 50 day moving average is $72.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.26. The company has a market capitalization of $70.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56. CVS Health has a twelve month low of $53.70 and a twelve month high of $83.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.69 by ($0.38). The firm had revenue of $88.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CVS Health will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Monday, April 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 19th. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.76%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is presently 46.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, Director Edward J. Ludwig acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,165,424.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total transaction of $2,267,947.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,059,916.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Edward J. Ludwig purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $53.88 per share, for a total transaction of $53,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,424.40. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CVS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,092,040,000. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 47.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 33,691,698 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,660,298,000 after acquiring an additional 10,837,801 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 29.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,487,238 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,919,159,000 after acquiring an additional 6,194,441 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in CVS Health by 573.8% in the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 5,553,457 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $442,944,000 after acquiring an additional 4,729,207 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 306.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,046,216 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $240,529,000 after purchasing an additional 2,297,100 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.