Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Stake Increased by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 18,661 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,039 shares during the period. Elevance Health comprises 0.8% of Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $9,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELV. Executive Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter valued at about $10,901,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health in the third quarter valued at about $469,000. Equitable Trust Co. raised its stake in Elevance Health by 159.6% during the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 1,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $915,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Elevance Health by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,206,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Palmer Knight Co lifted its holdings in Elevance Health by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Palmer Knight Co now owns 10,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,462,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ELV shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Elevance Health from $585.00 to $478.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $589.00 to $484.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $593.00 to $495.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stephens reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $600.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $539.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $3,205,182.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,423 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,639,915.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Elevance Health Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of ELV stock opened at $422.62 on Friday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $397.98 and a 1 year high of $567.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.01 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $489.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $517.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.50.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.66 by ($1.29). The company had revenue of $44.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.47 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 3.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.99 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 32.93 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.77%.

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.