Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Cuts Stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its holdings in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $4,611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lifeworks Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in Elevance Health by 2.9% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Fullcircle Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 1.5% during the third quarter. Fullcircle Wealth LLC now owns 1,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $906,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 57.8% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 71 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of Elevance Health stock opened at $385.52 on Thursday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12 month low of $362.21 and a 12 month high of $567.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $385.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $451.16.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 18.28%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 34.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.71 dividend. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is currently 25.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on ELV. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Elevance Health from $585.00 to $478.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stephens downgraded shares of Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $605.00 to $555.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Elevance Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $517.03.

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.