Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Stock Rating Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

ELV has been the subject of a number of other reports. Leerink Partners increased their price target on Elevance Health from $364.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Mizuho set a $490.00 price objective on Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $465.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $451.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $456.48.

Elevance Health Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE ELV opened at $426.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $92.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $412.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $373.58. Elevance Health has a 1 year low of $274.84 and a 1 year high of $450.69.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 21st. The company reported $6.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.71 by $2.28. The company had revenue of $50.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.28 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 14.97% and a net margin of 2.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.03 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Elevance Health will post 29.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $6.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is 29.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

In related news, EVP Ratnakar Lavu sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $440.00, for a total transaction of $572,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,533,560. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mark Kaye sold 10,584 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $440.13, for a total value of $4,658,335.92. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 19,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,766,949.47. This trade represents a 34.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 6.2% during the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 298,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,096,000 after buying an additional 17,561 shares during the period. ProVise Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Elevance Health by 11.8% in the third quarter. ProVise Management Group LLC now owns 29,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,383,000 after acquiring an additional 3,094 shares during the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Elevance Health by 107.7% in the third quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,013,000 after acquiring an additional 1,351 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $859,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $646,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Elevance Health News

Here are the key news stories impacting Elevance Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its FY2026 EPS estimate to $29.02 from $27.06, and lifted forecasts for Q1 2027 and Q1 2028 to $11.73 and $12.61, respectively. An additional analyst also raised its Q2 EPS estimate, though the report did not provide the revised figure. Q2 EPS Estimate for Elevance Health Lifted by Analyst
• Neutral Sentiment: EVP Ratnakar Lavu sold 1,300 shares for $572,000, an 8.05% reduction in his holdings. He still directly owned 14,849 shares after the transaction, making the sale a limited insider-sentiment signal. SEC insider transaction filing
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate article considers what would need to be true for Elevance to be an attractive stock purchase, but the supplied article information does not state its conclusion. What Needs To Be True To Buy Elevance Health Stock?
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research lowered estimates for Q4 2026 EPS to $2.00 from $2.43, Q3 2027 to $6.01 from $6.70, and Q3 2028 to $7.09 from $7.75. These cuts temper the positive revisions and point to a less favorable outlook for some future quarters.

About Elevance Health

Elevance Health, Inc is a U.S. health benefits and services company. Formerly known as Anthem, Inc, it adopted the Elevance Health name in 2022 while retaining the Anthem brand for many of its health plans.

The company offers medical, pharmacy, dental, vision and behavioral health coverage, including plans for individuals and employers as well as programs serving Medicare and Medicaid members. Its services also include care management, pharmacy benefit services and other health-related capabilities through its Carelon business.

Elevance Health operates primarily in the United States, with health plans serving members across multiple states and access to broader provider networks through its Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliations.