CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Lifted to Overweight at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $82.00 price target on the pharmacy operator’s stock, up from their prior price target of $63.00.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on CVS. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on CVS Health from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of CVS Health from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded CVS Health from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $75.26.

CVS Health Price Performance

CVS opened at $66.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50-day moving average is $59.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.02. CVS Health has a 1 year low of $52.77 and a 1 year high of $83.25.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.10. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.98% and a return on equity of 12.72%. The business had revenue of $91.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $91.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that CVS Health will post 6.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 21st. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 46.75%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in CVS Health by 192.0% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 438 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 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.