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

Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $539.20.

ELV has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James set a $485.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $520.00 target price (down previously from $620.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Argus downgraded Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Elevance Health from $593.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on Elevance Health from $600.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th.

Elevance Health Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:ELV opened at $371.07 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $86.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $399.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $482.54. Elevance Health has a 52-week low of $362.21 and a 52-week high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.66 by ($1.29). The firm had revenue of $44.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.47 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.68% and a return on equity of 19.56%. Elevance Health’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.99 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Elevance Health will post 32.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is 23.77%.

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 that occurred on 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Elevance Health by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 272,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,777,000 after buying an additional 11,646 shares during the last quarter. Brass Tax Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Elevance Health by 2.6% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,204,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in Elevance Health during the third quarter valued at approximately $10,883,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Elevance Health by 16.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,212,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $617,359,000 after purchasing an additional 168,220 shares in the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.