Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Reaches New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $427.19 and last traded at $421.7120, with a volume of 250590 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $416.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ELV has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $396.00 to $399.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $317.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Evercore reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Citigroup upgraded Elevance Health to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Elevance Health from $408.00 to $480.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $419.16.

Elevance Health Stock Up 0.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $387.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $350.26. The firm has a market cap of $90.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.67.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported $12.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.74 by $1.84. The firm had revenue of $49.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.21 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 15.58%. Elevance Health’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $11.97 EPS. Elevance Health has set its FY 2026 guidance at 19.850- EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 26.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $1.72 per share. This represents a $6.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 10th. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is currently 29.26%.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other Elevance Health news, Director Robert L. Dixon, Jr. sold 151 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $401.77, for a total transaction of $60,667.27. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,312,599.18. This trade represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ELV. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,058,165,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,289,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,906,051,000 after buying an additional 1,668,679 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,446,185 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,610,261,000 after buying an additional 1,607,274 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in Elevance Health by 145.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 2,693,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $788,570,000 after buying an additional 1,597,497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 50.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,903,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,368,505,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,390 shares during the period. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Elevance Health

Elevance Health, Inc (NYSE: ELV) is a large U.S.-based health benefits company that provides a broad range of health insurance products and related services. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the company rebranded from Anthem, Inc to Elevance Health in 2022 while continuing to operate consumer-facing health plans under established state and national brands. Gail Boudreaux serves as chief executive officer and president, leading the company’s strategic focus on integrated health care and benefit delivery.

Elevance’s core activities include offering medical and specialty health plans for individuals, employers and government programs, including Medicare and Medicaid managed-care products.