CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $52.33, but opened at $53.52. CVS Health shares last traded at $53.21, with a volume of 1,563,112 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on CVS. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded CVS Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $60.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on CVS Health from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays dropped their price target on CVS Health from $75.00 to $71.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on CVS Health from $72.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.71.

CVS Health Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $67.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $51.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.24.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $95.43 billion during 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%. CVS Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be paid a $0.665 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.92%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is currently 67.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in CVS Health by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 410,001 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $25,781,000 after acquiring an additional 36,132 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 28.7% in the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 46,938 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,951,000 after acquiring an additional 10,465 shares in the last quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. raised its stake in shares of CVS Health by 43.8% in the third quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 122,682 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $7,125,000 after acquiring an additional 37,395 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in CVS Health by 4.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,434,476 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $90,200,000 after acquiring an additional 66,244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of CVS Health by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 134,523 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $8,459,000 after acquiring an additional 10,453 shares in the last quarter. 80.66% of the stock is currently 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.