Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,994,419 shares of the company’s stock after selling 97,550 shares during the period. Elevance Health accounts for approximately 0.6% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $735,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 89.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ELV has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $478.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Elevance Health from $512.00 to $522.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.44.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of ELV stock opened at $421.55 on Monday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52-week low of $362.21 and a 52-week high of $567.26. The stock has a market cap of $95.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.46, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $420.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $407.30.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $11.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $10.60 by $1.37. The firm had revenue of $48.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $46.26 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 18.28%. As a group, analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mark Kaye sold 4,588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $424.82, for a total transaction of $1,949,074.16. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,061,809.14. This represents a 19.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total value of $1,388,635.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,008,970.80. The trade was a 25.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,535 shares of company stock worth $3,521,612 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.29% 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.