Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Stock Price

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) had its target price reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $593.00 to $495.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on Elevance Health from $605.00 to $555.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Elevance Health from $589.00 to $484.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Elevance Health from $600.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Elevance Health from $643.00 to $551.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $478.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.53.

Elevance Health Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of ELV traded up $2.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $420.20. 281,168 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,122,404. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $499.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $520.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $97.45 billion, a PE ratio of 15.23, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.85. Elevance Health has a 52 week low of $397.98 and a 52 week high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.66 by ($1.29). Elevance Health had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 3.68%. The firm had revenue of $44.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $8.99 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Elevance Health will post 32.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.77%.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total value of $3,205,182.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,639,915.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 6.2% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 856,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,426,000 after purchasing an additional 49,755 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Financial LLC increased its stake in Elevance Health by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. First National Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. First National Trust Co now owns 837 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $518,000. Finally, Keystone Financial Services grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 9.5% in the third quarter. Keystone Financial Services now owns 1,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $730,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 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.