Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC cut its holdings in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 12.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,944 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,442 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $6,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 309.7% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 713,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $370,794,000 after buying an additional 538,978 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,397,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,246,574,000 after acquiring an additional 334,552 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,461,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,320,024,000 after purchasing an additional 286,905 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter valued at about $129,221,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Elevance Health by 49,164.4% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 231,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,234,000 after purchasing an additional 230,581 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on ELV shares. StockNews.com raised Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Stephens lowered shares of 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 research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Argus restated a “hold” rating and issued a $405.40 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $517.03.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

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 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 approximately $4,008,970.80. The trade was a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of ELV stock opened at $397.67 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $389.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $436.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.83. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12-month low of $362.21 and a 12-month high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released 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 return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 3.38%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is 26.71%.

Elevance Health 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.