Riverbend Wealth Management LLC Takes $223,000 Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Riverbend Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $469,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Elevance Health by 1.8% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 12,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,310,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 12.6% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp raised its position in shares of Elevance Health by 4.8% in the third quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 2,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,240,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Colonial River Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC now owns 563 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ELV opened at $409.46 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $391.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $432.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.50. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $362.21 and a 1 year high of $567.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 3.38%. As a group, research analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.71 dividend. 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%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ELV has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Argus reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $405.40 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $517.03.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In related news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.