Analysts Set Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Price Target at $539.20

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $539.20.

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Elevance Health from $643.00 to $551.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $520.00 target price (down previously from $620.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Elevance Health from $593.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Elevance Health from $589.00 to $484.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 21st.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ELV opened at $371.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50-day moving average of $399.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $482.54. Elevance Health has a fifty-two week low of $362.21 and a fifty-two week high of $567.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its earnings results 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 19.56% and a net margin of 3.68%. The company had revenue of $44.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.99 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Elevance Health will post 32.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is 23.77%.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 8,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,639,915.22. This represents a 46.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Ocean LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Private Ocean LLC now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in Elevance Health by 3.5% in the third quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 679 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 4.2% during the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 615 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 2.5% in the third quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 3.1% in the second quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 26 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.