Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $397.92 and last traded at $400.05, with a volume of 472901 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $400.69.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho cut their price target on Elevance Health from $585.00 to $505.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $605.00 to $555.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $593.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $643.00 to $551.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Raymond James set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $539.20.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $475.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $513.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $92.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.85.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.66 by ($1.29). The firm had revenue of $44.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.47 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.68% and a return on equity of 19.56%. Elevance Health’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.99 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 32.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is currently 23.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

In other Elevance Health news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total transaction of $3,205,182.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,639,915.22. This trade represents a 46.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in Elevance Health by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,687,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,557,759,000 after buying an additional 129,709 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,848,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,511,814,000 after acquiring an additional 85,770 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 1.0% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,609,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,396,814,000 after acquiring an additional 44,805 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Elevance Health by 6.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,461,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,320,024,000 after purchasing an additional 286,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Elevance Health by 5.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,791,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,054,641,000 after purchasing an additional 190,118 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

About Elevance Health

Elevance Health, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a health benefits company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Health Benefits, CarelonRx, Carelon Services, and Corporate & Other. It offers a variety of health plans and services to program members; health products; an array of fee-based administrative managed care services; and specialty and other insurance products and services, such as stop loss, dental, vision, life, disability, and supplemental health insurance benefits.