Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Shares Bought by Focused Investors LLC

Focused Investors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 517,800 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,200 shares during the quarter. Elevance Health accounts for approximately 6.0% of Focused Investors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Focused Investors LLC’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $191,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ELV. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Elevance Health by 460.1% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 4,923 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,560,000 after buying an additional 4,044 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Elevance Health by 57.4% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,356,000 after purchasing an additional 3,054 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Elevance Health by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 854 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Elevance Health by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 188,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,798,000 after acquiring an additional 13,619 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Elevance Health by 45.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 24,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,786,000 after acquiring an additional 7,641 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE ELV opened at $427.27 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $400.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $425.32. Elevance Health, Inc. has a twelve month low of $362.21 and a twelve month high of $567.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $97.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 3.38%. Research analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.71 dividend. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is currently 26.71%.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other Elevance Health news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total transaction of $1,388,635.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,970.80. The trade was a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total transaction of $183,902.59. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,745.11. This represents a 19.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ELV shares. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Stephens lowered Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Argus upgraded Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.81.

Elevance Health 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.