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

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

ELV has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Elevance Health from $622.00 to $501.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Elevance Health from $600.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Argus cut shares of Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $593.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stephens restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ELV opened at $407.33 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $94.47 billion, a PE ratio of 14.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $446.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $504.59. Elevance Health has a twelve month low of $391.02 and a twelve month high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 3.68%. The business 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 business posted $8.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Elevance Health will post 32.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,639,915.22. This represents a 46.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 51,967.1% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 657,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,956,000 after buying an additional 656,344 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Elevance Health by 309.7% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 713,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,794,000 after purchasing an additional 538,978 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 523,910 shares during the period. Finally, Maj Invest Holding A S bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the second quarter worth about $173,753,000. 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.