Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Shares Gap Up to $500.09

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $500.09, but opened at $512.43. Elevance Health shares last traded at $508.37, with a volume of 168,119 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ELV shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Elevance Health from $572.00 to $574.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com cut Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $584.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $580.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $561.00 to $557.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $569.00.

Elevance Health Trading Up 1.7 %

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $507.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $481.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $118.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.78.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 3.49%. The business had revenue of $42.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. This is an increase 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.90%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $376,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,554,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its position in Elevance Health by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 83,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,422,000 after purchasing an additional 11,627 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC boosted its position in Elevance Health by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 592 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Thrive Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Elevance Health by 13.6% in the first quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.