Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Shares Gap Down to $511.26

Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $511.26, but opened at $499.10. Elevance Health shares last traded at $501.81, with a volume of 410,334 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ELV shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $643.00 target price for the company. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and set a $530.00 price objective (down from $646.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $615.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $604.29.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $116.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50-day moving average of $537.04 and a 200-day moving average of $530.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

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

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.64%.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In other news, Director Robert L. Dixon, Jr. sold 305 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $506.76, for a total transaction of $154,561.80. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,926,213.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Gail Boudreaux sold 34,000 shares of the company’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 value of $17,033,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,478,674.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert L. Dixon, Jr. sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.76, for a total value of $154,561.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,926,213.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,058 shares of company stock worth $17,588,116 in the last ninety days. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELV. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 523,910 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $239,244,000. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the first quarter worth approximately $203,389,000. Maj Invest Holding A S acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the second quarter worth approximately $173,753,000. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in Elevance Health by 15.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 275,708 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

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.