Hickory Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Hickory Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,553 shares of the company’s stock after selling 161 shares during the quarter. Hickory Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $1,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Elevance Health by 82.9% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 720,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,073,000 after buying an additional 326,543 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Elevance Health by 101.6% during the fourth quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 2,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $765,000 after buying an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA boosted its stake in Elevance Health by 44.7% during the fourth quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 26,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,653,000 after buying an additional 8,081 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its stake in Elevance Health by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 93,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,308,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Elevance Health by 103.9% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,050,000 after buying an additional 1,370 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other news, CFO Mark Kaye sold 4,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $424.82, for a total transaction of $1,949,074.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,061,809.14. This trade represents a 19.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Down 0.4%

ELV stock opened at $384.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Elevance Health, Inc. has a twelve month low of $357.45 and a twelve month high of $567.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $404.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $400.19. The stock has a market cap of $86.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.01, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.69%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ELV. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $478.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $518.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Baird R W cut shares of Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $522.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Argus set a $465.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $498.87.

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.