Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on ELV. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $505.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Raymond James set a $485.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $478.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $517.03.

Elevance Health Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE:ELV traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $402.13. 1,205,358 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,776,789. Elevance Health has a 12-month low of $362.21 and a 12-month high of $567.26. The business has a 50-day moving average of $386.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $455.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.26 billion, a PE ratio of 15.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.83.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 18.28%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Elevance Health will post 34.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is an increase from Elevance Health's previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Elevance Health by 51,967.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 657,607 shares of the company's stock worth $341,956,000 after purchasing an additional 656,344 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 309.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 713,027 shares of the company's stock valued at $370,794,000 after purchasing an additional 538,978 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 85,533.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 532,638 shares of the company's stock valued at $276,972,000 after purchasing an additional 532,016 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,397,258 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,246,574,000 after purchasing an additional 334,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Elevance Health by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,461,585 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,320,024,000 after acquiring an additional 286,905 shares in the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is 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.