Truist Financial Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for CVS Health (NYSE:CVS)

Truist Financial restated their buy rating on shares of CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $66.00 target price on the pharmacy operator’s stock, down from their prior target price of $90.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on CVS. SVB Leerink reissued a market perform rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down previously from $87.00) on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group lowered CVS Health from a buy rating to a neutral rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of CVS Health from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an equal weight rating and a $78.00 target price for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $80.35.

CVS Health Price Performance

NYSE:CVS traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $55.90. The stock had a trading volume of 23,946,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,498,538. CVS Health has a one year low of $53.70 and a one year high of $83.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $72.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.56.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmacy operator reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.38). The business had revenue of $88.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.33 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.53%. CVS Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that CVS Health will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

CVS Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.665 per share. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 19th. CVS Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.75%.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In other CVS Health news, Director Edward J. Ludwig acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,165,424.40. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Edward J. Ludwig acquired 1,000 shares of CVS Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $53.88 per share, with a total value of $53,880.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,630 shares in the company, valued at $1,165,424.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total value of $2,267,947.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at $3,059,916.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its holdings in CVS Health by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 2,859 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 3,378 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Prairie Sky Financial Group LLC now owns 3,612 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC increased its holdings in CVS Health by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. WealthShield Partners LLC now owns 4,498 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in CVS Health by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,639 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CVS Health Company Profile

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.