Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Declares $1.63 Quarterly Dividend

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, April 19th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of 1.63 per share on Tuesday, June 25th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th.

Elevance Health has increased its dividend payment by an average of 15.9% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 2 years. Elevance Health has a payout ratio of 15.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Elevance Health to earn $41.45 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 15.7%.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of ELV traded up $6.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $531.42. 1,760,852 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,063,179. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Elevance Health has a 12-month low of $412.00 and a 12-month high of $539.11. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $508.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $482.59.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The company reported $10.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $10.54 by $0.10. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.49% and a return on equity of 20.47%. The company had revenue of $42.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Elevance Health will post 37.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $376,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,554,500. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Elevance Health

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. TD Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. O Dell Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, West Tower Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ELV has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $574.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $557.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $580.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $583.77.

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.