Brokerages Set CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Price Target at $69.82

Shares of CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $69.82.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CVS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. Wolfe Research boosted their target price on CVS Health from 67.00 to 70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on CVS Health from $80.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In related news, Director Michael F. Mahoney acquired 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $66.70 per share, for a total transaction of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in CVS Health by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 70,105,899 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,147,054,000 after acquiring an additional 7,075,209 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 61,039,777 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,739,927,000 after buying an additional 12,819,148 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,527,909 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,554,475,000 after buying an additional 1,989,066 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,051,540 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,211,582,000 after buying an additional 689,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 26,666,401 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,196,989,000 after buying an additional 1,212,126 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.66% of the company’s stock.

CVS Health Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:CVS opened at $65.63 on Monday. CVS Health has a 12-month low of $43.56 and a 12-month high of $80.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.00.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. Equities research analysts predict that CVS Health will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.05%. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.68%.

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.