Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $427.64 and last traded at $424.5350, with a volume of 176318 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $416.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $408.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Elevance Health from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Guggenheim upped their target price on Elevance Health from $396.00 to $399.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Leerink Partners set a $364.00 price target on Elevance Health in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Elevance Health to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $425.95.

Elevance Health Trading Up 0.9%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $91.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $395.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $352.48.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $12.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.74 by $1.84. The company had revenue of $49.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.21 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 15.58%. Elevance Health’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $11.97 EPS. Elevance Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.850- EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 26.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th were paid a $1.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $6.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is presently 29.26%.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In other news, Director Robert L. Dixon, Jr. sold 151 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.77, for a total transaction of $60,667.27. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,312,599.18. This represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter valued at $5,941,000. Bright Rock Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 4th quarter worth $7,362,000. Prana Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 798.9% in the third quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 51,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,684,000 after acquiring an additional 45,889 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the third quarter worth $10,047,000. Finally, Loews Corp increased its position in Elevance Health by 107.5% during the third quarter. Loews Corp now owns 110,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,543,000 after acquiring an additional 57,000 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Elevance Health

Elevance Health, Inc (NYSE: ELV) is a large U.S.-based health benefits company that provides a broad range of health insurance products and related services. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the company rebranded from Anthem, Inc to Elevance Health in 2022 while continuing to operate consumer-facing health plans under established state and national brands. Gail Boudreaux serves as chief executive officer and president, leading the company’s strategic focus on integrated health care and benefit delivery.

Elevance’s core activities include offering medical and specialty health plans for individuals, employers and government programs, including Medicare and Medicaid managed-care products.