CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $48.01, but opened at $50.35. CVS Health shares last traded at $49.67, with a volume of 4,138,047 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CVS has been the subject of several research reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of CVS Health from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of CVS Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $62.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on CVS Health from $68.00 to $58.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. 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 Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $64.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s fifty day moving average is $51.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $95.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.72 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The business’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CVS Health Co. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be issued a $0.665 dividend. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 23rd. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.51%.

Institutional Trading of CVS Health

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 255.7% during the 4th quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in CVS Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in CVS Health in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 80.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.