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

Key Points

• Elevance Health hit a new 52-week high after TD Cowen raised its price target from $400 to $465 and kept a buy rating on the stock.
• Several other analysts also turned more optimistic, including JPMorgan, Mizuho, Cantor Fitzgerald and Wells Fargo, pushing the consensus rating to Moderate Buy with an average price target of $435.05.
• The company recently posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.72 per share, or $6.88 annualized.

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $400.00 to $465.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Elevance Health traded as high as $436.24 and last traded at $430.2070, with a volume of 2192410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $425.17.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $411.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Elevance Health from $435.00 to $465.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Elevance Health from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Elevance Health from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Elevance Health from $391.00 to $492.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $435.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert L. Dixon, Jr. sold 151 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.77, for a total value of $60,667.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,312,599.18. This represents a 1.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. WealthCollab LLC raised its stake in Elevance Health by 42.2% during the 1st quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 91 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 120.4% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 108 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company's stock.

Elevance Health Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market cap of $93.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $399.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $354.74.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $12.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $10.74 by $1.84. The firm had revenue of $49.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $48.21 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 15.58% and a net margin of 2.62%.The business's revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $11.97 EPS. Elevance Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.850- EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 26.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th were issued a $1.72 dividend. This represents a $6.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 10th. Elevance Health's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.26%.

Elevance Health Company Profile

Elevance Health, Inc NYSE: ELV is a large U.S.-based health benefits company that provides a broad range of health insurance products and related services. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the company rebranded from Anthem, Inc to Elevance Health in 2022 while continuing to operate consumer-facing health plans under established state and national brands. Gail Boudreaux serves as chief executive officer and president, leading the company's strategic focus on integrated health care and benefit delivery.

Elevance's core activities include offering medical and specialty health plans for individuals, employers and government programs, including Medicare and Medicaid managed-care products.

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