CVS Health Co. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.67 (NYSE:CVS)

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, July 8th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, July 22nd will be given a dividend of 0.665 per share by the pharmacy operator on Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 22nd.

CVS Health has increased its dividend by an average of 6.6% per year over the last three years. CVS Health has a payout ratio of 34.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect CVS Health to earn $7.76 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.66 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.3%.

CVS Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CVS opened at $57.63 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $58.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 0.52. CVS Health has a 1-year low of $52.77 and a 1-year high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.38). CVS Health had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.53%. The firm had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.20 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that CVS Health will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Bank of America cut their target price on CVS Health from $95.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird began coverage on CVS Health in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $61.00 price target for the company. Finally, SVB Leerink reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.05.

Insider Activity

In other CVS Health news, Director Edward J. Ludwig acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,424.40. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.24% 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.