CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Stock Price Up 1.1% – Here’s Why

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)’s stock price rose 1.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $52.48 and last traded at $52.55. Approximately 3,188,072 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 13,691,771 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CVS has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of CVS Health from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised CVS Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $60.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on CVS Health from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.71.

CVS Health Trading Up 1.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $66.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $56.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that CVS Health Co. will post 5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be given a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of CVS Health by 34.8% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 11,897,034 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $748,085,000 after acquiring an additional 3,071,613 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in CVS Health by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 56,527,909 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $3,554,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,989,066 shares in the last quarter. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 3rd quarter worth $121,987,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 5,864.2% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 1,730,343 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $108,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,701,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in CVS Health by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,289,788 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $310,722,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327,855 shares in the last quarter. 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.