Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $409.55, but opened at $425.13. Elevance Health shares last traded at $413.00, with a volume of 271,381 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Stephens downgraded shares of Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Argus reissued a “hold” rating and set a $405.40 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $517.03.

Elevance Health Trading Up 3.1 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $391.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $432.42. The stock has a market cap of $96.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.71 dividend. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is 26.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at $4,008,970.80. This represents a 25.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its position in Elevance Health by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 16,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,091,000 after acquiring an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $115,157,000. Brooklyn FI LLC acquired a new stake in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $519,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth approximately $146,000. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Elevance Health by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.