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

Truist Financial restated their buy rating on shares of Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, 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 analysts also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $530.00 target price (down from $646.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Elevance Health from $600.00 to $593.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $615.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Elevance Health from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Argus cut Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $572.27.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ELV opened at $430.76 on Friday. Elevance Health has a 1 year low of $397.98 and a 1 year high of $567.26. The firm has a market cap of $100.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $526.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $527.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.49.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $44.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.47 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.89% and a return on equity of 20.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $8.99 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Elevance Health will post 37.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Elevance Health news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $531.52, for a total value of $400,234.56. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Elevance Health news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of Elevance Health 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at $3,639,915.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $531.52, for a total value of $400,234.56. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,647,610.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,170 shares of company stock worth $20,638,737. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ELV. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 34.0% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,062,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,117,698,000 after acquiring an additional 523,910 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $203,389,000. Maj Invest Holding A S bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $173,753,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Elevance Health by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,058,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,115,301,000 after buying an additional 275,708 shares during the period. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 1st quarter valued at $109,435,000. 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.