Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Trading 3.6% Higher – Time to Buy?

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) shares rose 3.6% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $445.00 and last traded at $444.85. Approximately 1,373,592 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 1% from the average daily volume of 1,394,319 shares. The stock had previously closed at $429.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stephens cut shares of Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $520.00 to $440.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.81.

Elevance Health Stock Up 5.4 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $102.48 billion, a PE ratio of 17.68, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s fifty day moving average is $407.13 and its 200-day moving average is $418.89.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 3.38%. On average, analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

In related news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total transaction of $183,902.59. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,745.11. This trade represents a 19.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total value of $1,388,635.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,970.80. This represents a 25.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its stake in Elevance Health by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $833,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Elevance Health by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,551,000 after purchasing an additional 3,049 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 22,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,328,000 after buying an additional 2,725 shares in the last quarter. JB Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 597.2% in the fourth quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 9,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,462,000 after buying an additional 8,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 60.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 10,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,452,000 after buying an additional 3,956 shares in the last quarter. 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.