CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Receives $69.82 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $69.82.

A number of equities analysts have commented on CVS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total transaction of $498,487.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,941.90. This trade represents a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,625,045.20. The trade was a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in CVS Health in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 255.7% in the fourth quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in CVS Health in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Stock Performance

CVS Health stock opened at $65.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.60. CVS Health has a 1-year low of $43.56 and a 1-year high of $80.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50-day moving average is $58.47 and its 200 day moving average is $56.98.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. Research analysts forecast that CVS Health will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.05%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.68%.

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.