Archer Investment Corp Increases Stock Holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Archer Investment Corp increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 428 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Elevance Health by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in Elevance Health by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,096,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 2,284 shares of the company’s stock valued at $994,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ELV shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $580.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays started coverage on Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $584.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Elevance Health from $561.00 to $557.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Elevance Health from $572.00 to $574.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $569.00.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ELV opened at $508.97 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. Elevance Health, Inc. has a twelve month low of $412.00 and a twelve month high of $521.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $508.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $482.29. The stock has a market cap of $118.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.78.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $5.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.60 by $0.02. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 20.47% and a net margin of 3.49%. The company had revenue of $42.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is a positive change from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is presently 25.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $376,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,554,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.