Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $605.07.

ELV has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $615.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $530.00 price objective (down from $646.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $643.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $611.00 to $622.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Elevance Health stock opened at $492.18 on Friday. Elevance Health has a 52-week low of $435.99 and a 52-week high of $567.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $533.40 and a 200-day moving average of $529.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $10.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.99 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $43.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.99 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.89% and a return on equity of 20.64%. The business’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.04 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Elevance Health will post 37.25 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.64%.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other news, CEO Gail Boudreaux sold 34,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $17,033,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,478,674.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Elevance Health news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $531.52, for a total value of $400,234.56. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,647,610.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Gail Boudreaux sold 34,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,478,674.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,058 shares of company stock valued at $17,588,116 over the last ninety days. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its stake in Elevance Health by 14.6% during the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 14,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,949,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in shares of Elevance Health by 119.7% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 12,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,292,000 after purchasing an additional 6,610 shares in the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,294,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 83,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,422,000 after buying an additional 11,627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BDF Gestion purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,837,000. 89.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.