Stock Prescription Ready for Pickup:
CVS Health
For the last few weeks, Financial Joy School has been giving you the lowdown on the best stocks for you to invest in. From first time investors to investment veterans, there’s something out there for everyone. Are you looking for your first stock or your twentieth? Don’t sleep on this one: CVS Health.
A Family Affair
CVS (which stands for Consumer Value Store) was founded in 1963 by brothers Stanley and Sidney Goldstein, along with their partner, Ralph Hoagland. Originally, the store focused on health and beauty products, but within only four years, pharmacies were added. The first stores featuring a pharmacy opened in Rhode Island in 1967. While CVS was sold to Melville Corporation in 1969, by 1996, CVS would find itself a standalone company. At this point, CVS began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under “CVS” with Stanley Goldstein as the company’s first chairman.
Over several decades, CVS made it a business of acquiring ownership of several drug stores and pharmaceutical companies. They acquired their popular MinuteClinic in 2006 and then merged with Caremark Rx, Inc. in 2007. In 2014, after removing all cigarettes and tobacco products from stores, the company officially changed its corporate name to CVS Health. CVS is now one of the largest pharmacy retail chains in the United States with over 9,000 stores and a presence in each of the fifty states as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
A Stable Foundation
Why should you invest in this stock? CVS Health is what’s considered a dividend-paying stock, meaning the company shares its profits and makes payments to its stockholders. Stockholders recently saw a ten percent increase in dividend payouts and there’s sure to be more where that came from.
The pharmaceutical giant’s future plans make it likely that payout percentages will continue to increase in the years to come. Currently CVS Health holds a growth score of A, meaning it has great potential as a long-term stock. In terms of earnings, the company is expected to remain on track with steady growth, which means you are likely to see a big payday down the line.
The healthcare benefits, pharmacy, and retail segments of the company all play a part in the overall performance. Each of these sectors has seen a steady and significant increase over the past year, helping to drive up the company’s revenue as a whole.
A Strong Brand
The CVS brand is solid and continues to outperform most competitors. CVS Health has continually changed with the times, making services convenient and reachable for customers. They proudly boast brick and mortar stores as well as online pharmacies and shopping, making themselves accessible to anyone. Though the CVS brand has seen many changes over the years, all the changes have proved to have a positive impact on the company. Perhaps, most importantly, CVS Health is well-established and won’t be disappearing any time soon.
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