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

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 20th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 22nd will be paid a dividend of 0.665 per share by the pharmacy operator on Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%.

CVS Health has increased its dividend by an average of 10.0% per year over the last three years. CVS Health has a payout ratio of 38.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect CVS Health to earn $6.77 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 39.3%.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.8 %

CVS traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $68.46. 2,210,006 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,031,100. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $59.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.20. The company has a market cap of $86.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. CVS Health has a one year low of $43.56 and a one year high of $80.75.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.30. CVS Health had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 1.24%. As a group, analysts expect that CVS Health will post 5.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other CVS Health news, Director Michael F. Mahoney bought 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $66.70 per share, with a total value of $2,001,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,625,045.20. This trade represents a 320.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP James David Clark sold 7,513 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,394 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CVS shares. StockNews.com upgraded CVS Health from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $71.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Edward Jones raised shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of CVS Health from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.83.

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.