Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. Makes New Investment in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,773,000. Elevance Health accounts for 1.7% of Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Elevance Health by 24.1% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 60.9% in the third quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 1,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $807,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 838 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in Elevance Health by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 58,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,412,000 after acquiring an additional 4,844 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Elevance Health Stock Down 1.0 %

ELV stock opened at $423.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $401.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $422.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1-year low of $362.21 and a 1-year high of $567.26. The firm has a market cap of $96.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ELV. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Stephens downgraded shares of Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Elevance Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $519.81.

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.