Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $1.29 EPS

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $8.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.66 by ($1.29), RTT News reports. The business had revenue of $44.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.47 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 20.64% and a net margin of 3.89%. Elevance Health’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.99 EPS. Elevance Health updated its FY 2024 guidance to 33.000-33.000 EPS and its FY24 guidance to ~$33.00 EPS.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of ELV traded down $13.58 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $430.77. 3,318,980 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,078,559. The company has a market cap of $100.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $526.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $527.46. Elevance Health has a 52-week low of $397.98 and a 52-week high of $567.26.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total value of $3,205,182.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,639,915.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total transaction of $3,205,182.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,639,915.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $531.52, for a total transaction of $400,234.56. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,647,610.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 42,170 shares of company stock worth $20,638,737. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Elevance Health

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 14,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,949,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Elevance Health by 119.7% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 12,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,292,000 after acquiring an additional 6,610 shares during the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,294,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its position in Elevance Health by 16.1% during the first quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 83,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,422,000 after purchasing an additional 11,627 shares during the period. Finally, BDF Gestion purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,837,000. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on ELV shares. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $624.00 to $589.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $643.00 target price for the company. Argus downgraded Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Elevance Health from $600.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James set a $485.00 target price on Elevance Health in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $572.27.

Elevance Health Company Profile

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.