Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Shares Sold by Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 1.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,282 shares of the company’s stock after selling 137 shares during the period. Elevance Health comprises 1.1% of Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $4,488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ELV. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $586,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 11,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,323,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 6,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,194,000 after purchasing an additional 773 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Certuity LLC purchased a new stake in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $274,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ELV shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $643.00 target price for the company. Bank of America restated 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $628.00 to $631.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $615.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $604.29.

Elevance Health Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE ELV traded up $4.80 during trading on Friday, reaching $556.89. 1,226,379 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,017,118. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $532.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $525.04. Elevance Health, Inc. has a twelve month low of $431.38 and a twelve month high of $557.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $129.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.64%.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In related 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 value of $154,561.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,926,213.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Elevance Health news, Director Robert L. Dixon, Jr. sold 305 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 9,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,926,213.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gail Boudreaux sold 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.98, for a total transaction of $17,033,320.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,709 shares in the company, valued at $63,478,674.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,058 shares of company stock valued at $17,588,116 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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.