Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Shares Gap Up to $500.09

Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $500.09, but opened at $512.43. Elevance Health shares last traded at $508.37, with a volume of 168,119 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $561.00 to $557.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $584.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $572.00 to $574.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $580.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $569.00.

Elevance Health Stock Up 0.4 %

The company has a market capitalization of $118.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $508.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $482.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $5.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.60 by $0.02. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.49% and a return on equity of 20.47%. The company had revenue of $42.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.23 EPS. Elevance Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. This is a positive change from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is 25.90%.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were 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 approximately $4,554,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Elevance Health by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 52,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,663,000 after buying an additional 9,199 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 244.2% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 7,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,314,000 after purchasing an additional 4,986 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,235,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 45,888.1% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 255,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,205,750,000 after purchasing an additional 255,138 shares during the period. Finally, Avitas Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,137,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

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.