Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $517.03.

ELV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Argus reissued a “hold” rating and set a $405.40 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stephens downgraded shares of Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $520.00 to $440.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Elevance Health Stock Up 1.1 %

ELV stock opened at $421.72 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Elevance Health has a 1-year low of $362.21 and a 1-year high of $567.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $395.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $428.79. The firm has a market cap of $95.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 18.28%. Research analysts predict that Elevance Health will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

In other Elevance Health news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total transaction of $1,388,635.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,970.80. The trade was a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total value of $183,902.59. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,745.11. The trade was a 19.34 % 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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raelipskie Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Accredited Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 57.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 71 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 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.