Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,076,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,135,014,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.33% of Elevance Health as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 838 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in Elevance Health by 6.3% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 8,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,538,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC lifted its holdings in Elevance Health by 6.8% in the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. 140 Summer Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 54.3% during the 3rd quarter. 140 Summer Partners LP now owns 133,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,191,000 after purchasing an additional 46,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 265,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,282,000 after purchasing an additional 8,691 shares during the period. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

NYSE:ELV opened at $431.81 on Friday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1-year low of $362.21 and a 1-year high of $567.26. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $403.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $422.91. The firm has a market cap of $98.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 3.38%. On average, equities analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $1.71 dividend. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is 26.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total transaction of $1,388,635.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,008,970.80. The trade was a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 directly owns 1,847 shares in the company, valued at $766,745.11. This trade represents a 19.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ELV. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Argus raised Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Stephens lowered Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $520.00 to $440.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $519.81.

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.