Analysts Set Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) PT at $519.81

Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $519.81.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ELV. StockNews.com upgraded Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Argus upgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens downgraded shares of Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total transaction of $1,388,635.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,970.80. The trade was a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total transaction of $183,902.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Elevance Health Price Performance

ELV stock opened at $428.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $408.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $416.52. The company has a market capitalization of $97.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.77. Elevance Health has a 52-week low of $362.21 and a 52-week high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 18.28%. Research analysts expect that Elevance Health will post 33.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.71%.

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.