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

Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $411.0625.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partnrs downgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $428.00 to $316.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $327.00 to $373.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Monday, July 21st.

Elevance Health Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE ELV opened at $340.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.59. Elevance Health has a 52-week low of $273.71 and a 52-week high of $510.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $306.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $362.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $8.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.30 by ($0.46). Elevance Health had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The company had revenue of $49.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $10.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Elevance Health will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 10th. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is 29.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Elevance Health news, CEO Gail Boudreaux purchased 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $286.94 per share, for a total transaction of $2,438,990.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 151,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,333,678.80. This trade represents a 5.96% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan D. Devore purchased 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $312.15 per share, with a total value of $374,580.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,149.30. This represents a 52.13% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the first quarter valued at about $299,000. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 4.6% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 22,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,764,000 after purchasing an additional 982 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 11.3% in the second quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 8,034 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,125,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 88.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,475,000 after purchasing an additional 1,588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the first quarter valued at about $522,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.