Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

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

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on ELV. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $600.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $478.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Argus downgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Elevance Health from $589.00 to $484.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $539.20.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

NYSE ELV opened at $366.26 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $414.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $491.14. The company has a market capitalization of $84.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.83. Elevance Health has a 1 year low of $363.54 and a 1 year high of $567.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.66 by ($1.29). The firm had revenue of $44.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.47 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.68% and a return on equity of 19.56%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $8.99 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Elevance Health will post 32.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is 23.77%.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other Elevance Health news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,639,915.22. The trade was a 46.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Ocean LLC increased its position in Elevance Health by 6.7% during the second quarter. Private Ocean LLC now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC increased its position in Elevance Health by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 679 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Elevance Health by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Elevance Health by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.