Anthem (NYSE:ANTM) was upgraded by equities researchers at Jefferies Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $211.00 price target on the stock, down from their previous price target of $235.00. Jefferies Group’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 12.02% from the stock’s current price. Jefferies Group also issued estimates for Anthem’s Q3 2018 earnings at $3.25 EPS and Q4 2018 earnings at $1.85 EPS.
A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on ANTM. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Anthem in a research note on Monday, October 16th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Anthem in a research note on Wednesday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Anthem in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. ValuEngine raised shares of Anthem from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 31st. Finally, Piper Jaffray Companies raised shares of Anthem from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $151.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Anthem has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $205.60.
Anthem (ANTM) opened at $239.82 on Friday. Anthem has a 1-year low of $144.34 and a 1-year high of $240.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market cap of $61,576.19, a PE ratio of 19.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.79.
Anthem announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 7th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.
In other Anthem news, insider Joseph Swedish sold 21,125 shares of Anthem stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.85, for a total value of $4,433,081.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 87,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,397,129.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gloria M. Mccarthy sold 14,429 shares of Anthem stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $229.68, for a total transaction of $3,314,052.72. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 30,667 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,043,596.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,259 shares of company stock valued at $13,194,281 over the last ninety days. 0.36% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANTM. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Anthem by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 127,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,704,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Anthem by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa SB Investments Ltd. now owns 6,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,438,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Anthem by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 7,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,610,000 after purchasing an additional 2,336 shares during the last quarter. Oak Point Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Anthem in the 4th quarter valued at $763,000. Finally, QUANTRES ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Anthem in the 4th quarter valued at $878,000. 87.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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About Anthem
Anthem, Inc is a health benefits company. The Company operates through three segments: Commercial and Specialty Business, Government Business and Other. It offers a spectrum of network-based managed care plans to large and small employer, individual, Medicaid and Medicare markets. Its managed care plans include preferred provider organizations; health maintenance organizations; point-of-service plans; indemnity plans and other hybrid plans, including consumer-driven health plans; and hospital only and limited benefit products.
