CVS Health Co. (CVS) To Go Ex-Dividend on April 19th

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 21st, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be given a dividend of 0.665 per share by the pharmacy operator on Wednesday, May 1st. This represents a $2.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th.

CVS Health has increased its dividend payment by an average of 6.6% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. CVS Health has a dividend payout ratio of 29.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect CVS Health to earn $9.18 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 29.0%.

CVS Health Stock Up 0.1 %

CVS opened at $69.03 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.63. CVS Health has a one year low of $64.41 and a one year high of $83.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $75.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.77.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $93.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $90.58 billion. CVS Health had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 2.33%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.99 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that CVS Health will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CVS Health

In other news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at $3,059,916.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CVS. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 103,371.0% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,547,559 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $1,448,877,000 after buying an additional 15,532,533 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth $1,425,416,000. Dodge & Cox grew its position in shares of CVS Health by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 30,413,390 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $2,401,441,000 after acquiring an additional 3,690,408 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in CVS Health by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 33,576,388 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,128,984,000 after purchasing an additional 3,311,928 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in CVS Health by 97.8% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,483,154 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $379,052,000 after purchasing an additional 2,711,102 shares during the period. 80.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CVS shares. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays initiated coverage on CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $87.00 price target on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com downgraded CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, HSBC initiated coverage on shares of CVS Health in a report on Friday, December 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $89.44.

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.