Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) gapped up prior to trading 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 changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ELV. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens cut shares of Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $405.40 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $517.03.

Elevance Health Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $393.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $431.42.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its 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%. On average, research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,008,970.80. The trade was a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total value of $183,902.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,745.11. This trade represents a 19.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ELV. Lifeworks Advisors LLC boosted its position in Elevance Health by 2.5% in the third quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 57.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 71 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Tobam boosted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 434 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its position in Elevance Health by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Elevance Health by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.