CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Trading 0.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)’s share price traded up 0.3% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $53.78 and last traded at $54.00. 2,044,456 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 13,126,470 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CVS shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on CVS Health from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded CVS Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $60.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Monday, November 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CVS Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.71.

CVS Health Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $68.84 billion, a PE ratio of 13.88, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $51.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.21.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $95.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.72 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.86%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CVS. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 3.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,268 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its stake in CVS Health by 13.1% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its holdings in CVS Health by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 27,625 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,737,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Widmann Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 11,506 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.