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

Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $510.38.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, March 28th. Argus set a $465.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $512.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $518.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,008,970.80. This trade represents a 25.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total transaction of $183,902.59. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,847 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold a total of 8,535 shares of company stock valued at $3,521,612 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth $1,135,014,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,355,532 shares of the company's stock worth $2,344,556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893,947 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health in the first quarter worth $789,943,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 81,726.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,474,514 shares of the company's stock worth $641,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,472,712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 47.6% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,225,339 shares of the company's stock worth $1,189,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,612 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Elevance Health Stock Up 0.7%

Elevance Health stock traded up $2.77 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $380.72. 178,609 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,525,973. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $416.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $401.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $86.02 billion, a PE ratio of 14.87, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.66. Elevance Health has a one year low of $357.45 and a one year high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $11.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $10.60 by $1.37. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 3.38%. The firm had revenue of $48.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $46.26 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Elevance Health will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Elevance Health's payout ratio is currently 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.