Ascent Group LLC Has $1.95 Million Stock Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 311.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,765 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,849 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $1,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. QVR LLC acquired a new stake in Elevance Health during the first quarter valued at $230,000. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Elevance Health by 6.8% during the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,986,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY raised its holdings in Elevance Health by 34.3% during the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 9,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,667,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Elevance Health during the first quarter valued at about $648,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Elevance Health by 12.3% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 142,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,023,000 after buying an additional 15,586 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of ELV traded up $2.36 on Monday, hitting $529.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 946,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,065,353. The company has a market capitalization of $122.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. Elevance Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $431.38 and a fifty-two week high of $555.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $530.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $516.31.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $10.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.99 by $0.13. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 20.64% and a net margin of 3.89%. The business had revenue of $43.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.04 EPS. Elevance Health’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued 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 is Tuesday, September 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is 24.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Elevance Health news, Director Robert L. Dixon, Jr. sold 305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.76, for a total transaction of $154,561.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,926,213.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Gail Boudreaux sold 34,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.98, for a total value of $17,033,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,478,674.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert L. Dixon, Jr. sold 305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.76, for a total transaction of $154,561.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,926,213.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Elevance Health from $600.00 to $593.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird assumed coverage on Elevance Health in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $649.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Elevance Health in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $643.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Elevance Health from $628.00 to $631.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Elevance Health from $585.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $604.29.

Elevance Health 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.