Argus Lowers Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) to Hold

Argus downgraded shares of Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Elevance Health from $600.00 to $593.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Truist Financial increased their price target on Elevance Health from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $530.00 price objective (down from $646.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Thursday, July 18th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $624.00 to $589.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $565.27.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

ELV stock opened at $422.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $98.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.82. Elevance Health has a twelve month low of $397.98 and a twelve month high of $567.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $524.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $527.27.

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

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total value of $3,205,182.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,639,915.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $531.52, for a total transaction of $400,234.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,744 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,647,610.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Elevance Health in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Elevance Health during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Elevance Health during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.