Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Lowered to Hold at Argus

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) was downgraded by equities researchers at Argus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports.

ELV has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Elevance Health in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $643.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $615.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $611.00 to $622.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $530.00 price objective (down previously from $646.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $572.27.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of ELV stock opened at $430.77 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $526.74 and its 200 day moving average is $527.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.82. Elevance Health has a 12 month low of $397.98 and a 12 month high of $567.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.66 by ($1.29). Elevance Health had a return on equity of 20.64% and a net margin of 3.89%. The company had revenue of $44.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.99 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Elevance Health will post 37.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Gail Boudreaux sold 34,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.98, for a total value of $17,033,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,709 shares in the company, valued at $63,478,674.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Gail Boudreaux sold 34,000 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.98, for a total value of $17,033,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,709 shares in the company, valued at $63,478,674.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $531.52, for a total transaction of $400,234.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,647,610.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 42,170 shares of company stock worth $20,638,737. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 5.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,791,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,054,641,000 after purchasing an additional 190,118 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Elevance Health by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,498,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,814,118,000 after buying an additional 123,802 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,247,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,217,607,000 after acquiring an additional 64,376 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,117,698,000 after acquiring an additional 523,910 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 15.5% during the second 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. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Elevance Health Company Profile

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.