Franklin Resources Inc. Has $426.52 Million Stock Holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,156,189 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,650 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.50% of Elevance Health worth $426,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ELV. Mutual Advisors LLC increased its position in Elevance Health by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 2,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $833,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,551,000 after acquiring an additional 3,049 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 1,711.9% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 53,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,858,000 after acquiring an additional 50,603 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 22,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,328,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JB Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Elevance Health by 597.2% in the 4th quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 9,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,462,000 after purchasing an additional 8,038 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of ELV stock opened at $435.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $99.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $405.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $419.64. Elevance Health, Inc. has a one year low of $362.21 and a one year high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 18.28%. Analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.71%.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total transaction of $183,902.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,745.11. This trade represents a 19.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total transaction of $1,388,635.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,008,970.80. This trade represents a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ELV shares. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Argus upgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Stephens cut Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.81.

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.