Net Worth Advisory Group Lowers Stock Holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Net Worth Advisory Group cut its holdings in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 20.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,232 shares of the company’s stock after selling 322 shares during the quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ELV. Riverbend Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at $223,000. Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,082,000. Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at $959,000. Meriwether Wealth & Planning LLC acquired a new stake in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at $592,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Elevance Health by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 32,291 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,913,000 after buying an additional 3,190 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ELV has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Stephens lowered shares of Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $517.03.

Elevance Health Stock Up 3.4 %

ELV opened at $423.44 on Wednesday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $362.21 and a 52 week high of $567.26. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $392.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $431.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $96.27 billion, a PE ratio of 16.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 3.38%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total value of $183,902.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,847 shares in the company, valued at $766,745.11. This trade represents a 19.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total transaction of $1,388,635.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,970.80. This represents a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.