Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $511.26, but opened at $499.10. Elevance Health shares last traded at $501.81, with a volume of 410,334 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on ELV shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $530.00 target price (down from $646.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. StockNews.com lowered Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $643.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $600.00 to $593.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Elevance Health has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $604.29.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $115.78 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $536.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $529.83.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $10.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.99 by $0.13. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.89% and a return on equity of 20.64%. The business had revenue of $43.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.04 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is currently 24.64%.

Insider Activity

In other Elevance Health news, Director Robert L. Dixon, Jr. sold 305 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.76, for a total transaction of $154,561.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,926,213.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $531.52, for a total transaction of $400,234.56. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,647,610.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert L. Dixon, Jr. sold 305 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.76, for a total transaction of $154,561.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,926,213.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,058 shares of company stock valued at $17,588,116. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Elevance Health by 34.0% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,062,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,117,698,000 after acquiring an additional 523,910 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Elevance Health in the first quarter valued at $203,389,000. Maj Invest Holding A S acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 2nd quarter worth about $173,753,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 275,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the first quarter worth approximately $109,435,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

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.