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

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 21st, RTT News reports. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 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 $9.10 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 Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:CVS opened at $68.58 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $75.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.73. The stock has a market cap of $86.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.52. CVS Health has a fifty-two week low of $64.41 and a fifty-two 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.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $93.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.58 billion. CVS Health had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.99 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CVS Health will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of CVS Health in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of CVS Health in a report on Monday, February 26th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of CVS Health from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CVS Health presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.44.

Insider Transactions at CVS Health

In related news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.95, for a total value of $2,267,947.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,059,916.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CVS. FIL Ltd grew its stake in CVS Health by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,609,367 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $127,076,000 after buying an additional 19,222 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its stake in CVS Health by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,039,547 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $82,082,000 after buying an additional 289,405 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new stake in CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,983,000. Childress Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in CVS Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $262,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of CVS Health by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 716,761 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $56,595,000 after purchasing an additional 7,045 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.