Pzena Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 193,997 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the period. Pzena Investment Management LLC owned 0.08% of Elevance Health worth $71,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in Elevance Health by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,687,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,557,759,000 after purchasing an additional 129,709 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Elevance Health by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,848,020 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,511,814,000 after purchasing an additional 85,770 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC raised its position in Elevance Health by 1.0% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,609,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,396,814,000 after purchasing an additional 44,805 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in 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 period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in 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 period. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,970.80. This trade represents a 25.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ELV shares. Stephens downgraded Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $405.40 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $517.03.

Elevance Health Trading Up 0.0 %

ELV opened at $409.46 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $391.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $432.42. The company has a market capitalization of $93.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $362.21 and a 52 week high of $567.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.