Empirical Finance LLC Boosts Stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 3.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,621 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $4,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ELV. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,457,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,102,208,000 after buying an additional 196,010 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 3,374,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,591,237,000 after acquiring an additional 248,150 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its stake in Elevance Health by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 3,087,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,456,132,000 after purchasing an additional 27,986 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,347,434,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Elevance Health by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,863,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $878,800,000 after purchasing an additional 110,462 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Elevance Health news, EVP Felicia F. Norwood sold 14,111 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.74, for a total transaction of $7,531,605.14. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,791,460.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ELV. Bank of America raised their price target on Elevance Health from $621.00 to $646.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $557.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird started coverage on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $649.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Elevance Health from $602.00 to $604.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $611.36.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of Elevance Health stock traded up $1.72 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $535.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 956,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,011,789. Elevance Health, Inc. has a one year low of $414.79 and a one year high of $550.34. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $534.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $512.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $124.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.84.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The company reported $10.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.54 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $42.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.49 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 20.62%. Elevance Health’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 10th were given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 10th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.64%.

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.