Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Receives Buy Rating from Truist Financial

Truist Financial reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $520.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $620.00.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Argus downgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $600.00 to $593.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $615.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $530.00 price target (down from $646.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $611.00 to $622.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $565.27.

Elevance Health Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE ELV opened at $422.39 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $524.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $527.27. The company has a market capitalization of $98.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.49. Elevance Health has a 52-week low of $397.98 and a 52-week high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.66 by ($1.29). Elevance Health had a return on equity of 20.64% and a net margin of 3.89%. The firm had revenue of $44.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.99 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Elevance Health will post 37.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total transaction of $3,205,182.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at $3,639,915.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Elevance Health news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $531.52, for a total transaction of $400,234.56. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,647,610.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total value of $3,205,182.38. Following 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Elevance Health by 34.0% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,062,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,117,698,000 after buying an additional 523,910 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the first quarter valued at $203,389,000. Maj Invest Holding A S bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the second quarter valued at $173,753,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 15.5% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,058,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,115,301,000 after acquiring an additional 275,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the first quarter valued at $109,435,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

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.