Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Price Target to $478.00

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) had its price target trimmed by Royal Bank of Canada from $585.00 to $478.00 in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Elevance Health from $624.00 to $589.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $600.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $520.00 target price (down from $620.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday. Argus lowered shares of Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $615.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Elevance Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $565.27.

Elevance Health Stock Down 1.9 %

Elevance Health stock opened at $422.39 on Friday. Elevance Health has a 12 month low of $397.98 and a 12 month high of $567.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.17 billion, a PE ratio of 15.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $524.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $527.27.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.66 by ($1.29). Elevance Health had a return on equity of 20.64% and a net margin of 3.89%. The company had revenue of $44.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.99 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Elevance Health will post 37.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is currently 24.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $3,205,182.38. Following 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Elevance Health news, 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 transaction, the director now owns 8,744 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total value of $3,205,182.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,639,915.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Elevance Health by 15.4% in the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,151,000 after purchasing an additional 3,893 shares during the last quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Elevance Health by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Waterway Wealth Management LLC now owns 538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter worth $55,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in Elevance Health in the third quarter valued at $155,000. Finally, Retirement Guys Formula LLC boosted its stake in Elevance Health by 8.3% in the third quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 2,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

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.