Elevance Health, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $1.63 (NYSE:ELV)

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, April 19th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of 1.63 per share on Tuesday, June 25th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th.

Elevance Health has raised its dividend payment by an average of 15.9% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. Elevance Health has a dividend payout ratio of 15.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Elevance Health to earn $41.46 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.7%.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of Elevance Health stock opened at $531.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.78. Elevance Health has a 1-year low of $412.00 and a 1-year high of $539.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $509.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $483.22.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The company reported $10.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.54 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $42.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.49 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 20.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Elevance Health will post 37.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $376,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,109 shares in the company, valued at $4,554,500. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. TD Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. O Dell Group LLC acquired a new stake in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, West Tower Group LLC acquired a new stake in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on ELV. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $584.00 to $621.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $580.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $574.00 to $575.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $557.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $583.77.

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.