Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $517.03.

A number of brokerages have commented on ELV. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $405.40 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th.

Elevance Health Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of ELV stock opened at $409.59 on Monday. Elevance Health has a 1-year low of $362.21 and a 1-year high of $567.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $390.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $433.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The company has a market cap of $93.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 EPS 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Elevance Health will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is currently 26.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Elevance Health news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,970.80. The trade was a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ELV. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Elevance Health Company Profile

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.