Morgan Stanley Lowers Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Price Target to $551.00

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) had its price target cut by Morgan Stanley from $643.00 to $551.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on ELV. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $589.00 to $484.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group dropped 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 report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Elevance Health from $585.00 to $478.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Elevance Health from $622.00 to $501.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $551.07.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ELV opened at $425.35 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $98.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a PEG 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 fifty-two week low of $397.98 and a fifty-two week high of $567.26. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $517.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $525.13.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its earnings results 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). Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.89% and a return on equity of 20.64%. The company had revenue of $44.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Elevance Health will post 37.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. PSI Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Elevance Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 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.