Mizuho Issues Positive Forecast for Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Stock Price

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Free Report) had its price objective upped by Mizuho from $455.00 to $505.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

ELV has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com raised Elevance Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Argus raised Elevance Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $521.47.

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Elevance Health Price Performance

NYSE ELV traded down $0.58 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $439.23. 367,041 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,438,563. Elevance Health has a 1-year low of $362.21 and a 1-year high of $567.26. The company has a market cap of $99.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.77. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $412.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $412.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.45.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Elevance Health will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.71%.

Insider Activity

In other Elevance Health news, 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 transaction of $1,388,635.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,008,970.80. The trade was a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total transaction of $183,902.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $766,745.11. This represents a 19.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company's stock.

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.