CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Given New $82.00 Price Target at Truist Financial

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) had its target price raised by equities research analysts at Truist Financial from $76.00 to $82.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the pharmacy operator’s stock. Truist Financial’s target price suggests a potential upside of 17.88% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on CVS. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.28.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $69.56 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.10 and a 200-day moving average of $58.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. CVS Health has a 12 month low of $43.56 and a 12 month high of $71.66.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.24% and a return on equity of 9.11%. Sell-side analysts expect that CVS Health will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter valued at $839,574,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in CVS Health by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,739,927,000 after acquiring an additional 12,819,148 shares in the last quarter. Davis Selected Advisers grew its holdings in CVS Health by 2,998.1% in the fourth quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 11,385,950 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $511,115,000 after purchasing an additional 11,018,438 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in shares of CVS Health by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,147,054,000 after purchasing an additional 7,075,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 19,610,579 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $880,319,000 after purchasing an additional 6,475,271 shares during the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.