Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $510.38.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ELV. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $518.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Argus set a $465.00 price objective on Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Elevance Health from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mark Kaye sold 4,588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $424.82, for a total value of $1,949,074.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,061,809.14. This represents a 19.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total value of $183,902.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,745.11. The trade was a 19.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,535 shares of company stock valued at $3,521,612. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ELV. Milestone Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 2.2% during the first quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 1,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 0.4% during the first quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 6,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,743,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Elser Financial Planning Inc raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 3.0% during the first quarter. Elser Financial Planning Inc now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Tobam raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Elevance Health Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:ELV opened at $372.33 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $84.12 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $419.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $403.06. Elevance Health has a 1 year low of $357.45 and a 1 year high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $11.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.60 by $1.37. The company had revenue of $48.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $46.26 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 18.28%. Analysts predict that Elevance Health will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.69%.

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.