Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday morning.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on ELV. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $643.00 to $551.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $505.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Elevance Health from $585.00 to $478.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Raymond James set a $485.00 price objective on Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $517.03.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of ELV stock opened at $400.62 on Monday. Elevance Health has a 52 week low of $362.21 and a 52 week high of $567.26. The company has a market capitalization of $92.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $386.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $459.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.50.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted 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 19.56% and a net margin of 3.68%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Elevance Health will post 32.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. 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. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ELV. Cypress Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in Elevance Health by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Elevance Health by 4.2% during the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Lifeworks Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Elevance Health by 2.5% during the third quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Elevance Health by 2.9% in the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Fullcircle Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Elevance Health by 1.5% in the third quarter. Fullcircle Wealth LLC now owns 1,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $906,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Elevance Health

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.