Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Given Buy Rating at Truist Financial

Truist Financial reiterated their buy rating on shares of Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $520.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $620.00.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on ELV. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $530.00 price objective (down from $646.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $643.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $600.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Elevance Health from $600.00 to $593.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Elevance Health from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $572.27.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

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

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released 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 business had revenue of $44.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.99 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Elevance Health will post 37.26 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is presently 24.64%.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In related news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at $3,639,915.22. This represents 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 available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at $3,639,915.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

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