CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Shares Up 2.9% – What’s Next?

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) was up 2.9% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $53.95 and last traded at $53.85. Approximately 3,102,539 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 13,178,004 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CVS Health currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.71.

CVS Health Stock Up 2.2 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $51.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $67.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.59.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $95.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.72 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 1.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 67.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in CVS Health in the 2nd quarter valued at $217,000. Ariel Investments LLC boosted its stake in CVS Health by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 669,084 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $39,516,000 after purchasing an additional 62,475 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 33.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,289,788 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $310,722,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327,855 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 1,108,877 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $61,106,000 after acquiring an additional 10,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 12.9% during the second quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 104,590 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $6,177,000 after purchasing an additional 11,950 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.