CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Trading 0.2% Higher – Should You Buy?

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) traded up 0.2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $54.81 and last traded at $54.36. 1,511,097 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 12,323,856 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CVS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.12.

CVS Health Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $50.90 and its 200 day moving average is $56.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $67.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.69, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.61.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $95.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.72 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were given a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.93%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CVS. Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health by 213.8% during the 4th quarter. Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC now owns 43,622 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,958,000 after purchasing an additional 29,722 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 165,314 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $7,421,000 after purchasing an additional 11,955 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in CVS Health by 21.8% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 318,089 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $14,279,000 after buying an additional 56,895 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in CVS Health by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 38,370 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,722,000 after purchasing an additional 5,689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $65,000. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.