Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Now Covered by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $643.00 target price on the stock.

ELV has been the topic of several other reports. Baird R W upgraded Elevance Health to a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Stephens restated an overweight rating and set a $615.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Elevance Health in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They set an outperform rating and a $649.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Elevance Health from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $611.36.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Elevance Health stock opened at $541.96 on Monday. Elevance Health has a 12-month low of $412.00 and a 12-month high of $550.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $532.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $507.43. The stock has a market cap of $125.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

In other news, EVP Felicia F. Norwood sold 14,111 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.74, for a total transaction of $7,531,605.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,791,460.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanders Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Elevance Health by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,457,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,102,208,000 after purchasing an additional 196,010 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 3.7% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,498,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,814,118,000 after buying an additional 123,802 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 3,087,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,456,132,000 after buying an additional 27,986 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth $1,347,434,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 1.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,784,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,212,521,000 after buying an additional 46,322 shares in the last quarter. 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.