Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Elevance Health (NYSE:ELVFree Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Thursday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Argus upgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stephens downgraded Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $519.81.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on ELV

Elevance Health Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:ELV opened at $434.44 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $98.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $399.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $427.17. Elevance Health has a 52 week low of $362.21 and a 52 week high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELVGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 3.38%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Elevance Health will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total transaction of $183,902.59. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total value of $1,388,635.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,008,970.80. The trade was a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new stake in Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Elevance Health Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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Analyst Recommendations for Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV)

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