Benjamin Edwards Inc. Increases Stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 1,711.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 53,559 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 50,603 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $27,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Ocean LLC increased its position in Elevance Health by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Private Ocean LLC now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Hurlow Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 1,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $666,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC increased its position in shares of Elevance Health by 3.5% during the third quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in Elevance Health by 4.2% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 602 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Elevance Health by 4.4% in the second quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 568 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ELV shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on Elevance Health from $600.00 to $485.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 18th. Stephens reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Elevance Health from $622.00 to $501.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Raymond James set a $485.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Elevance Health currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $539.20.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of ELV opened at $406.96 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $94.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.85. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $446.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $504.13. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12 month low of $391.02 and a 12 month high of $567.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.66 by ($1.29). Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.68% and a return on equity of 19.56%. The business had revenue of $44.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.99 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 32.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $1.63 per share. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is presently 23.77%.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total value of $3,205,182.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at $3,639,915.22. This trade represents a 46.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company 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.