CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Shares Up 1.5% – Still a Buy?

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) shares traded up 1.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $52.89 and last traded at $52.72. 13,362,187 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 2% from the average session volume of 13,670,579 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.96.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CVS shares. UBS Group upped their target price on CVS Health from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com cut CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.71.

CVS Health Stock Up 1.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $51.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.29.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.01. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The business had revenue of $95.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.72 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.21 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CVS Health Co. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in CVS Health by 7.2% in the third quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,397 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in CVS Health by 3.5% during the third quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,268 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 0.7% during the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 27,625 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,737,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Widmann Financial Services Inc. increased its position in CVS Health by 1.8% during the third quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 11,506 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $724,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

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.