Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)’s share price hit a new 52-week high 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 research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $602.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of 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 lifted their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $557.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $574.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $580.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $587.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Elevance Health news, EVP Felicia F. Norwood sold 14,111 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.74, for a total value of $7,531,605.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,460 shares in the company, valued at $16,791,460.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $376,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 9,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,554,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Felicia F. Norwood sold 14,111 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.74, for a total transaction of $7,531,605.14. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,791,460.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ELV. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in Elevance Health by 4.5% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. lifted its position in Elevance Health by 7.4% in the first quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC lifted its position in Elevance Health by 2.6% in the first quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 6,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,379,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Elevance Health in the first quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Elevance Health by 7.6% in the first quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 217,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,603,000 after acquiring an additional 15,401 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Elevance Health Trading Up 1.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $125.44 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business’s 50-day moving average is $511.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $485.81.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The company reported $10.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.54 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $42.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.49 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 20.62%. Elevance Health’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

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

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.