StockNews.com Downgrades Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Mizuho reduced their price objective 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 decreased their price target on Elevance Health from $605.00 to $555.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Raymond James set a $485.00 price objective on Elevance Health in a report on Friday, October 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $643.00 to $551.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $539.20.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ELV opened at $365.96 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $409.70 and a 200-day moving average of $489.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.50. Elevance Health has a twelve month low of $362.21 and a twelve month high of $567.26. The firm has a market cap of $84.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.83.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $8.99 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Elevance Health will post 32.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Elevance Health news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total transaction of $3,205,182.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,639,915.22. This trade represents a 46.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ELV. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the third quarter worth about $26,000. PSI Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 57.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 71 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. 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.