Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $539.20.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $589.00 to $484.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $600.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Raymond James set a $485.00 target price on Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Elevance Health from $593.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Elevance Health from $622.00 to $501.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of ELV stock opened at $382.14 on Friday. Elevance Health has a 52-week low of $379.29 and a 52-week high of $567.26. 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 stock has a market cap of $88.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $437.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $500.74.

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

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value of $3,205,182.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELV. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT boosted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT now owns 39,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,360,000 after acquiring an additional 3,786 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Elevance Health by 85,533.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 532,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,972,000 after purchasing an additional 532,016 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 1,711.9% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 53,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,858,000 after purchasing an additional 50,603 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 209,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,127,000 after buying an additional 9,916 shares during the period. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 104,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,199,000 after buying an additional 21,708 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Elevance Health Company Profile

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.