Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

ELV has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $424.00 to $455.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $473.00 to $492.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Elevance Health from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $451.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $456.48.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ELV opened at $417.73 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Elevance Health has a 12-month low of $274.84 and a 12-month high of $450.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $413.37 and a 200 day moving average of $373.82.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $6.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.71 by $2.28. The business had revenue of $50.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $49.28 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 2.55% and a return on equity of 14.97%. The company’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.03 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Elevance Health will post 29.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Investors of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $1.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $6.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ratnakar Lavu sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $440.00, for a total transaction of $572,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,533,560. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Mark Kaye sold 10,584 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $440.13, for a total transaction of $4,658,335.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,766,949.47. This represents a 34.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Field & Main Bank grew its position in shares of Elevance Health by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 1,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $728,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its position in Elevance Health by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 1,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $754,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC increased its position in Elevance Health by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tranquilli Financial Advisor LLC now owns 2,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $805,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in Elevance Health by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 766 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, 55 North Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Elevance Health by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. 55 North Private Wealth LLC now owns 598 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Elevance Health Company Profile

Elevance Health, Inc is a U.S. health benefits and services company. Formerly known as Anthem, Inc, it adopted the Elevance Health name in 2022 while retaining the Anthem brand for many of its health plans.

The company offers medical, pharmacy, dental, vision and behavioral health coverage, including plans for individuals and employers as well as programs serving Medicare and Medicaid members. Its services also include care management, pharmacy benefit services and other health-related capabilities through its Carelon business.

Elevance Health operates primarily in the United States, with health plans serving members across multiple states and access to broader provider networks through its Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliations.