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

CVS Health Co. (NYSE:CVS) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 21st, RTT News reports. Investors 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 dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 19th.

CVS Health has raised its dividend by an average of 6.6% per year over the last three years and has raised 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. Equities 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 Price Performance

CVS opened at $69.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.01 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s 50-day moving average is $75.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.77. CVS Health has a 1 year low of $64.41 and a 1 year high of $83.25. 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 (NYSE:CVS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The pharmacy operator reported $2.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $90.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.99 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that CVS Health will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CVS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $78.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $87.00 price objective on shares of CVS Health in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on CVS Health in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on CVS Health from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut CVS Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.44.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Prem S. Shah sold 29,473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,059,916.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CVS Health

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 15,532,533 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in CVS Health during the 4th quarter worth $1,425,416,000. Dodge & Cox grew its holdings in shares of CVS Health by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 30,413,390 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $2,401,441,000 after buying an additional 3,690,408 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of CVS Health by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 33,576,388 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $3,128,984,000 after buying an additional 3,311,928 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in CVS Health by 97.8% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,483,154 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $379,052,000 after acquiring an additional 2,711,102 shares during 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.