CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) shares gapped up prior to trading 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho dropped their price target on CVS Health from $73.00 to $66.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of CVS Health from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $60.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of CVS Health from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of CVS Health in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CVS Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.71.

CVS Health Stock Up 1.6 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $51.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $68.84 billion, a PE ratio of 13.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.59.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The pharmacy operator reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $95.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.72 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 1.36% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The company’s revenue was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that CVS Health Co. will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

CVS Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.665 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 23rd. This represents a $2.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.86%. CVS Health’s payout ratio is 67.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVS. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in CVS Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its stake in CVS Health by 255.7% during the fourth quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 626 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in CVS Health during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in CVS Health in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CVS Health in the third quarter worth $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.