CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) Declares $0.67 Quarterly Dividend

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 21st, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 22nd will be paid 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 yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 19th.

CVS Health has raised its dividend payment by an average of 6.6% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 2 years. CVS Health has a payout ratio of 29.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect CVS Health to earn $9.10 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 29.2%.

CVS Health Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:CVS opened at $68.58 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $75.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.73. CVS Health has a 52 week low of $64.41 and a 52 week high of $83.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $86.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total transaction of $2,267,947.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CVS Health

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gladius Capital Management LP grew its stake in CVS Health by 14.8% during the third quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP now owns 16,009 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after acquiring an additional 2,065 shares in the last quarter. MayTech Global Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth $156,000. LM Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 4th quarter worth about $153,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 1st quarter worth about $148,000. Finally, Certified Advisory Corp bought a new stake in shares of CVS Health in the 1st quarter worth about $148,000. 80.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CVS. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $86.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. HSBC began coverage on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $94.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays began coverage on shares of CVS Health in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $83.00 to $76.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.44.

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.