Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Downgraded by Argus

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

Several other research firms have also weighed in on ELV. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $615.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $611.00 to $622.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Elevance Health currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $572.27.

Elevance Health Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE ELV opened at $430.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $526.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $527.81. Elevance Health has a 1 year low of $397.98 and a 1 year high of $567.26. The firm has a market cap of $100.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is 24.64%.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 8,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,647,610.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,639,915.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $531.52, for a total value of $400,234.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,647,610.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Elevance Health by 34.0% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,062,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,117,698,000 after purchasing an additional 523,910 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new stake in Elevance Health in the first quarter valued at about $203,389,000. Maj Invest Holding A S acquired a new stake in Elevance Health during the second quarter worth about $173,753,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Elevance Health by 15.5% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,058,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,115,301,000 after buying an additional 275,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Elevance Health during the 1st quarter valued at about $109,435,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

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.