Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Announces Earnings Results

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) released its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $8.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.66 by ($1.29), RTT News reports. The firm had revenue of $44.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.47 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 20.64% and a net margin of 3.89%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.99 EPS. Elevance Health updated its FY 2024 guidance to 33.000-33.000 EPS and its FY24 guidance to ~$33.00 EPS.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

NYSE ELV opened at $430.76 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $100.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $526.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $527.46. Elevance Health has a twelve month low of $397.98 and a twelve month high of $567.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is currently 24.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ELV shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $611.00 to $622.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $478.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $605.00 to $555.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Argus lowered shares of Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $600.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $572.27.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In related news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total value of $3,205,182.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,639,915.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 shares were sold at an average price of $531.52, for a total transaction of $400,234.56. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,647,610.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total transaction of $3,205,182.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at $3,639,915.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,170 shares of company stock valued at $20,638,737 over the last quarter. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 5.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 3,791,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,054,641,000 after purchasing an additional 190,118 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 3.7% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,498,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,814,118,000 after purchasing an additional 123,802 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Elevance Health by 2.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,247,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,217,607,000 after buying an additional 64,376 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Elevance Health by 34.0% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,062,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,117,698,000 after buying an additional 523,910 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Elevance Health by 15.5% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 2,058,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,115,301,000 after buying an additional 275,708 shares during the period. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.