Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day 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 changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $533.73.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $557.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $574.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $600.00 price target (up previously from $580.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on Elevance Health from $584.00 to $621.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $587.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,554,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELV. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp purchased a new position in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $125.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $510.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $485.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

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

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

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