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

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

ELV has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on Elevance Health from $600.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $589.00 to $484.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 21st. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $622.00 to $501.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $643.00 to $551.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stephens restated an “underperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $539.20.

Elevance Health Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ELV opened at $366.26 on Wednesday. Elevance Health has a 52-week low of $363.54 and a 52-week high of $567.26. The stock has a market cap of $84.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.35, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $414.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $491.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.68% and a return on equity of 19.56%. The firm had revenue of $44.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.99 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Elevance Health will post 32.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brass Tax Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Elevance Health by 44.1% in the third quarter. Brass Tax Wealth Management Inc. now owns 640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter valued at about $10,883,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Elevance Health by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,212,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $617,359,000 after acquiring an additional 168,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in Elevance Health by 0.5% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 8,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,269,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.