Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $390.73, but opened at $404.72. Elevance Health shares last traded at $394.93, with a volume of 539,696 shares changing hands.

The company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.68% and a return on equity of 19.56%.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is presently 23.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ELV has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays lowered their price target on Elevance Health from $622.00 to $501.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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 note on Friday, October 18th. Mizuho cut their price target on Elevance Health from $585.00 to $505.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $643.00 to $551.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Elevance Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $524.87.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 71.1% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 8,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,840,000 after buying an additional 3,711 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 16.6% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 1,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $740,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the second quarter valued at about $35,763,000. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 7.7% in the second quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 502 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 58.3% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 44,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,149,000 after purchasing an additional 16,420 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Up 2.0 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $386.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $463.64. The firm has a market cap of $92.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.54, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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.