Royal Bank of Canada Reiterates "Outperform" Rating for Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV)

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $478.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada's price target would indicate a potential upside of 24.28% from the stock's previous close.

ELV has been the subject of several other research reports. Mizuho increased their price target on Elevance Health from $455.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Elevance Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $480.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $485.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $518.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $499.53.

Elevance Health Trading Up 1.2%

Elevance Health stock traded up $4.54 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $384.61. The stock had a trading volume of 2,130,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,539,241. Elevance Health has a 52-week low of $357.45 and a 52-week high of $567.26. The company has a fifty day moving average of $411.30 and a 200 day moving average of $400.91. The firm has a market cap of $86.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $11.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.60 by $1.37. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 18.28%. The company had revenue of $48.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $46.26 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Elevance Health will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Mark Kaye sold 4,588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $424.82, for a total transaction of $1,949,074.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,061,809.14. This trade represents a 19.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total value of $183,902.59. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $766,745.11. The trade was a 19.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the 4th quarter worth about $1,135,014,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Elevance Health by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,355,532 shares of the company's stock worth $2,344,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893,947 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the first quarter worth $789,943,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of 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 raised its position in Elevance Health by 47.6% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,225,339 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,189,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,612 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company's stock.

Elevance Health Company Profile

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.