Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stephens lowered shares of Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Argus restated a “hold” rating and issued a $405.40 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $517.03.

Elevance Health Stock Down 2.3 %

NYSE:ELV traded down $9.91 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $412.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,981,234 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,657,990. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $393.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $431.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company has a market capitalization of $93.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. Elevance Health has a 12 month low of $362.21 and a 12 month high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 3.38%. Equities analysts predict that Elevance Health will post 33.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total transaction of $1,388,635.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,008,970.80. The trade was a 25.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total transaction of $183,902.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,847 shares in the company, valued at $766,745.11. This represents a 19.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lifeworks Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Elevance Health by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Elevance Health by 57.8% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 71 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Tobam increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Elevance Health by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Austin Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Elevance Health by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.