Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Posts Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $1.29 EPS

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $8.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.66 by ($1.29), RTT News reports. The firm had revenue of $44.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.47 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 20.64% and a net margin of 3.89%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.99 earnings per share. Elevance Health updated its FY 2024 guidance to 33.000-33.000 EPS and its FY24 guidance to ~$33.00 EPS.

Elevance Health Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of Elevance Health stock opened at $430.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $100.12 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.82. Elevance Health has a 1-year low of $397.98 and a 1-year high of $567.26. The business has a 50-day moving average of $526.74 and a 200-day moving average of $527.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total value of $3,205,182.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,639,915.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Elevance Health news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total value of $3,205,182.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at $3,639,915.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $531.52, for a total value of $400,234.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,647,610.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 42,170 shares of company stock worth $20,638,737. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ELV. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in Elevance Health by 8.8% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 248 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 1,247 shares of the company’s stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. American Trust lifted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. American Trust now owns 775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ELV. Barclays upped their price objective on Elevance Health from $611.00 to $622.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Elevance Health from $605.00 to $555.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Elevance Health in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $643.00 price target for the company. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $530.00 price target (down from $646.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Raymond James set a $485.00 price target on Elevance Health in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $572.27.

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.