Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high 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 traded. The stock had previously closed at $533.73.

ELV has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $602.00 to $604.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $580.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Elevance Health from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $574.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $587.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $376,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,109 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,554,500. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. 89.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Elevance Health Trading Up 1.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $125.44 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $510.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $485.44.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The company reported $10.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $42.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.46 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. Elevance Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.