CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) shares gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $48.01, but opened at $50.35. CVS Health shares last traded at $49.67, with a volume of 4,138,047 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CVS has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on CVS Health from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays dropped their price target on CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $62.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.71.

CVS Health Stock Up 5.4 %

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 fifty day moving average price of $51.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.55. The company has a market cap of $63.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.59.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The firm had revenue of $95.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.32 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.25%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.51%.

Institutional Trading of CVS Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 410,001 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $25,781,000 after purchasing an additional 36,132 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in CVS Health by 28.7% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 46,938 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,951,000 after buying an additional 10,465 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of CVS Health by 43.8% during the third quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 122,682 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $7,125,000 after buying an additional 37,395 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,434,476 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $90,200,000 after buying an additional 66,244 shares during the period. Finally, Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in CVS Health by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 134,523 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $8,459,000 after acquiring an additional 10,453 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

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.