Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Takes $96,000 Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 184 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $96,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELV. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Elevance Health by 51,967.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 657,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,956,000 after acquiring an additional 656,344 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Elevance Health by 85,533.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 532,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,972,000 after purchasing an additional 532,016 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Elevance Health by 34.0% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,062,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,117,698,000 after buying an additional 523,910 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the 1st quarter valued at $203,389,000. Finally, Maj Invest Holding A S purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the 2nd quarter worth about $173,753,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ELV shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $643.00 to $551.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus lowered Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $530.00 target price (down from $646.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Thursday, July 18th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Elevance Health from $589.00 to $484.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Stephens reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $539.20.

Elevance Health Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of ELV stock opened at $412.91 on Wednesday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $397.98 and a 1 year high of $567.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $486.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $516.91. The company has a market cap of $95.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.05, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $44.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.47 billion. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 3.68%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $8.99 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 32.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.77%.

Insider Activity

In other Elevance Health news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the 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 owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,639,915.22. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.