Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also commented on ELV. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $360.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Elevance Health from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $297.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Elevance Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $400.83.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

NYSE ELV opened at $358.95 on Friday. Elevance Health has a twelve month low of $273.71 and a twelve month high of $458.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $79.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $335.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $332.05.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The company reported $6.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.03 by $1.00. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 16.17% and a net margin of 2.84%.The company had revenue of $50.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.37 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Elevance Health will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in Elevance Health by 331.6% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Rossby Financial LCC raised its position in shares of Elevance Health by 110.0% during the third quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 84 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 94.9% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 76 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.