Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Earns Overweight Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed their overweight rating on shares of Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a $600.00 price target on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on ELV. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Elevance Health from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Elevance Health in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set an overweight rating and a $643.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Elevance Health from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Elevance Health from $624.00 to $589.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $600.00 to $593.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $604.29.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of ELV opened at $533.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.49. Elevance Health has a fifty-two week low of $431.38 and a fifty-two week high of $567.26. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $536.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $529.70. The company has a market capitalization of $124.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.82.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $10.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.99 by $0.13. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 20.64% and a net margin of 3.89%. The company had revenue of $43.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.99 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.04 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Elevance Health will post 37.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $531.52, for a total transaction 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Elevance Health news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $531.52, for a total transaction of $400,234.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,744 shares in the company, valued at $4,647,610.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gail Boudreaux sold 34,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.98, for a total transaction of $17,033,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,478,674.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,058 shares of company stock worth $17,588,116. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 66.9% during the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Elevance Health by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 4,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,689,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 41.6% in the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 50,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,093,000 after acquiring an additional 14,700 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Elevance Health in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,133,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the second quarter valued at about $12,805,000. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.