Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd Increases Stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 51.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,787 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,673 shares during the period. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $5,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,485,574 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,926,028,000 after purchasing an additional 138,380 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Elevance Health by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,687,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,557,759,000 after buying an additional 129,709 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Elevance Health by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,848,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,511,814,000 after acquiring an additional 85,770 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,609,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,396,814,000 after acquiring an additional 44,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 6.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,461,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,320,024,000 after acquiring an additional 286,905 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Price Performance

NYSE:ELV opened at $427.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $401.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $423.64. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12 month low of $362.21 and a 12 month high of $567.26. The firm has a market cap of $97.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. 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 (NYSE:ELV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Stephens lowered Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction of $183,902.59. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $766,745.11. This trade represents a 19.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total value of $1,388,635.20. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

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.