Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $1.63

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, October 18th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of 1.63 per share on Friday, December 20th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th.

Elevance Health has increased its dividend by an average of 15.9% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 13 years. Elevance Health has a payout ratio of 15.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Elevance Health to earn $41.65 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.7%.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

ELV traded down $13.58 during trading on Friday, hitting $430.77. 3,317,899 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,078,540. The firm has a market cap of $100.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 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 has a one year low of $397.98 and a one year high of $567.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $528.77 and its 200 day moving average is $528.05.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.66 by ($1.29). Elevance Health had a return on equity of 20.64% and a net margin of 3.89%. The company had revenue of $44.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.99 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Elevance Health will post 37.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ELV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Elevance Health in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $643.00 price target on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “underperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $530.00 price target (down previously from $646.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “buy” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $520.00 target price (down previously from $620.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $572.27.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In related news, CEO Gail Boudreaux sold 34,000 shares of the business’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 value of $17,033,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,709 shares in the company, valued at $63,478,674.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Elevance Health news, CEO Gail Boudreaux sold 34,000 shares of the business’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 value of $17,033,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,478,674.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $531.52, for a total transaction of $400,234.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,647,610.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.