Vestcor Inc Cuts Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Vestcor Inc reduced its stake in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,917 shares of the company’s stock after selling 230 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $5,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raelipskie Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 57.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 71 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Elevance Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ELV shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Argus restated a “hold” rating and set a $405.40 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Stephens cut shares of Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $517.03.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In other Elevance Health news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total transaction of $1,388,635.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of ELV opened at $417.77 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $394.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $431.33. The company has a market capitalization of $94.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. Elevance Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $362.21 and a fifty-two week high of $567.26. 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 (NYSE:ELV) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 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%. Research analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. This is a positive change 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 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.