Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Shares Acquired by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 535,194 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 29,012 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $197,429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ELV. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens lowered Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $519.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $766,745.11. This represents a 19.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total value of $1,388,635.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,008,970.80. This represents a 25.73 % 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.

Elevance Health Stock Down 5.3 %

NYSE ELV opened at $428.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $97.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.74, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $408.70 and a 200-day moving average of $418.26. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1-year low of $362.21 and a 1-year high of $567.26.

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

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.71%.

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.