Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Stephens cut Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Argus raised Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $519.81.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

ELV opened at $427.27 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $97.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $400.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $425.32. Elevance Health has a 1 year low of $362.21 and a 1 year high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 3.38%. Research analysts expect that Elevance Health will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 26.71%.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In related news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total transaction of $183,902.59. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,745.11. This represents a 19.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the company’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 value of $1,388,635.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,970.80. This trade represents a 25.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELV. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,135,014,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,355,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,344,556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893,947 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 47.6% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,225,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,189,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,612 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 6,817.8% in the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 908,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,254,000 after purchasing an additional 895,658 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D1 Capital Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth approximately $294,751,000. 89.24% of the stock is 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.