Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Cut to Hold at Baird R W

Baird R W lowered shares of Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $518.00 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, March 28th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Argus upgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $514.41.

Elevance Health Price Performance

NYSE ELV opened at $424.44 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $96.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.77. Elevance Health has a 52 week low of $362.21 and a 52 week high of $567.26. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $416.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $411.67.

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

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.71 dividend. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

In other Elevance Health news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total value 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 approximately $4,008,970.80. This trade represents a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total value of $183,902.59. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,745.11. The trade was a 19.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Riverview Trust Co grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 1,340.0% during the first quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 72 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 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.