Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $383.21 and last traded at $386.92, with a volume of 287742 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $392.98.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $478.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Elevance Health from $605.00 to $555.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Elevance Health from $643.00 to $551.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays dropped their target price on Elevance Health from $622.00 to $501.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Elevance Health from $593.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $539.20.

Elevance Health Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $437.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $500.74. The stock has a market cap of $89.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.83.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its 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). 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 analyst estimates of $43.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 32.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.77%.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In other Elevance Health news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,639,915.22. The trade was a 46.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Elevance Health by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,687,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,557,759,000 after purchasing an additional 129,709 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,848,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,511,814,000 after acquiring an additional 85,770 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,609,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,396,814,000 after acquiring an additional 44,805 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,461,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,320,024,000 after acquiring an additional 286,905 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,791,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,054,641,000 after acquiring an additional 190,118 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.