Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $427.19 and last traded at $421.7120, with a volume of 250590 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $416.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ELV. Leerink Partners set a $364.00 price objective on Elevance Health in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Elevance Health from $395.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Elevance Health from $396.00 to $399.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Elevance Health from $424.00 to $482.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Elevance Health from $375.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $419.16.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $90.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $391.29 and its 200-day moving average is $351.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48.

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

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In related news, Director Robert L. Dixon, Jr. sold 151 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $401.77, for a total value of $60,667.27. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,312,599.18. This trade represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELV. WealthCollab LLC grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 42.2% during the first quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 120.4% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 108 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

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.