Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Holdings Trimmed by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lowered its position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 655,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $241,666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 309.7% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 713,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $370,794,000 after purchasing an additional 538,978 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 16.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,397,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,246,574,000 after purchasing an additional 334,552 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 6.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,461,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,320,024,000 after purchasing an additional 286,905 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the third quarter valued at $129,221,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the fourth quarter valued at $88,882,000. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of ELV stock opened at $412.13 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $393.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $431.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.45. Elevance Health, Inc. has a twelve month low of $362.21 and a twelve month high of $567.26. The company has a market capitalization of $93.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ELV shares. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $405.40 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays increased their price objective on Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $517.03.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In other Elevance Health news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $766,745.11. This represents a 19.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.