Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Hits New 52-Week High at $533.56

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $533.56 and last traded at $530.40, with a volume of 361720 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $508.97.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ELV. Barclays began coverage on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $584.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $580.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $561.00 to $557.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $572.00 to $574.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $569.00.

Elevance Health Stock Up 5.8 %

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $508.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $482.29. The firm has a market cap of $125.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $5.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.60 by $0.02. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.49% and a return on equity of 20.47%. The business had revenue of $42.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $376,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,109 shares in the company, valued at $4,554,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,201,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 989 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 745 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 3.6% in the first quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 611 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 725 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

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.