Wright Investors Service Inc. Sells 2,739 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Wright Investors Service Inc. lessened its position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 33.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,551 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,739 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $2,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Elevance Health by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 52,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,663,000 after buying an additional 9,199 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Capital LLC lifted its position in Elevance Health by 244.2% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 7,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,314,000 after purchasing an additional 4,986 shares during the last quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at $2,235,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 45,888.1% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 255,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,205,750,000 after acquiring an additional 255,138 shares during the period. Finally, Avitas Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at $2,137,000. 89.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Elevance Health news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $376,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,554,500. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Elevance Health Price Performance

NYSE ELV traded up $19.32 on Thursday, hitting $528.29. The company had a trading volume of 1,035,966 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,032,020. The company has a market capitalization of $122.93 billion, a PE ratio of 21.27, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $508.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $482.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12-month low of $412.00 and a 12-month high of $539.11.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $5.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.60 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $42.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.19 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.49% and a return on equity of 20.47%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.23 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is 25.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ELV has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $572.00 to $574.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $584.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $580.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $561.00 to $557.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a 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 $569.00.

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.