Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Reaches New 12-Month High at $521.18

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $521.18 and last traded at $520.46, with a volume of 229449 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $519.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ELV has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Elevance Health from $547.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $572.00 to $574.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $584.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $569.36.

Elevance Health Trading Down 0.3 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $501.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $475.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.66 billion, a PE ratio of 20.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.78.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $5.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.60 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $42.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.19 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.49% and a return on equity of 20.47%. Elevance Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.15 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $1.63 dividend. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is presently 25.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

In other news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $376,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,109 shares in the company, valued at $4,554,500. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. TD Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.