Meridian Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $686,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 10.7% during the 3rd quarter. Iridian Asset Management LLC CT now owns 39,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,360,000 after purchasing an additional 3,786 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 85,533.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 532,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $276,972,000 after purchasing an additional 532,016 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 209,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,127,000 after purchasing an additional 9,916 shares during the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 104,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,199,000 after purchasing an additional 21,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 185.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 51,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,600,000 after purchasing an additional 33,231 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ELV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $505.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Raymond James set a $485.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $589.00 to $484.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $600.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $643.00 to $551.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $539.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at $3,639,915.22. This trade represents a 46.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Trading Down 0.3 %

ELV stock opened at $402.55 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The company has a market capitalization of $93.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.85. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1-year low of $391.02 and a 1-year high of $567.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $460.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $508.84.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.66 by ($1.29). The firm had revenue of $44.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.47 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.68% and a return on equity of 19.56%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.99 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 32.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.77%.

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.