Analysts Set CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) PT at $70.41

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $70.41.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CVS shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on shares of CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Edward Jones raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised shares of CVS Health from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th.

CVS Health Stock Up 5.9 %

Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $67.64 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. 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 one year low of $43.56 and a one year high of $74.85. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.18.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 EPS 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%. As a group, analysts expect that CVS Health will post 5.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 22nd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CVS Health news, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.35, for a total value of $498,487.55. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,941.90. The trade was a 47.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael F. Mahoney purchased 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 39,356 shares in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the third quarter worth $1,369,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in CVS Health by 548.2% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 35,837 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,254,000 after purchasing an additional 30,308 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 370.6% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 760,903 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $47,825,000 after purchasing an additional 599,200 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,233,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 49.0% in the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 41,636 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,618,000 after buying an additional 13,700 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently 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.