Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Reaches New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Mizuho raised their price target on the stock from $575.00 to $585.00. Mizuho currently has a buy rating on the stock. Elevance Health traded as high as $539.95 and last traded at $539.47, with a volume of 206072 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $533.73.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on ELV. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $580.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on Elevance Health from $585.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Elevance Health from $557.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays upped their target price on Elevance Health from $584.00 to $621.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Elevance Health from $602.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $587.42.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $376,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,554,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ELV. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Elevance Health in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new stake in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $510.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $485.44. The company has a market capitalization of $125.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.78.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The company reported $10.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.54 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $42.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.49 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.46 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be given a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is 24.64%.

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.