Question #1: Calculate the beta of 4 companies: CVS, GE, 3M, and NVIDIA Corporation. Use the data available on Yahoo Finance or any financial portal to show your calculations step-by-step. What does the "beta" tell you about the risk/reward profile of these companies? If you are a risk-adverse investor which stock would you avoid?

Question #2: Estimate the 2018 weighted cost of capital (WACC) of CVS based on the following information:

1. Balance sheet: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/CVS/balance-sheet/

2. Income Statement: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/CVS/financials/

3. Use the 12/31/18 3-month Treasury rate from the Daily Treasury Yield Curve Rates table available here as a risk free rate: https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interestrates/pages/TextView.aspx?data=yieldYear&year=2018

4. Tax: 20%

5. Risk Premium: 6%

6. Beta: calculated in Q1 Is the WACC of CVS higher or lower compared to the WACC of its industry? Use the Retail (Grocery and Food) industry for this exercise. http://people.stern.nyu.edu/adamodar/New_Home_Page/datafile/wacc.htm

Question #3: Use CVS financial information in 2017, 2018, and 2019 to answer this question.

1. Calculate profit margin, turnover rate, and leverage ratio for CVS in each year.

2. Calculate return of equity (ROE) and return on assets (ROA) in each year.

3. Did the ROE increase or decrease during these three years? What was the driving factor?

4. Provide a short explanation of the Dupont analysis.