Wells Fargo & Company Increases Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Price Target to $600.00

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $557.00 to $600.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on ELV. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Elevance Health from $602.00 to $604.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating and set a $580.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on Elevance Health from $584.00 to $621.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Elevance Health from $572.00 to $574.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Elevance Health from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $583.77.

Elevance Health Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of ELV stock opened at $531.59 on Friday. Elevance Health has a 1-year low of $412.00 and a 1-year high of $539.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $509.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $483.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $123.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.78.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The company reported $10.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.54 by $0.10. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 20.62% and a net margin of 3.64%. The firm had revenue of $42.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.46 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Elevance Health will post 37.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Investors of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is 24.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $376,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,554,500. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 52,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,663,000 after acquiring an additional 9,199 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 244.2% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 7,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,314,000 after acquiring an additional 4,986 shares during the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,235,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Elevance Health by 45,888.1% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 255,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,205,750,000 after purchasing an additional 255,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avitas Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,137,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

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.