Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Short Interest Down 23.7% in February

Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,480,000 shares, a decline of 23.7% from the February 13th total of 3,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,710,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Elevance Health Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of ELV traded up $5.20 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $426.14. 280,091 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,294,171. Elevance Health has a 1-year low of $362.21 and a 1-year high of $567.26. The business has a 50 day moving average of $395.45 and a 200 day moving average of $428.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a market capitalization of $96.88 billion, a PE ratio of 16.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. 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. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is 26.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ELV shares. Argus raised shares of Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $519.81.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 10,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,008,970.80. This represents a 25.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Elevance Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ELV. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,135,014,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Elevance Health by 42.5% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,355,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,344,556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893,947 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Elevance Health by 47.6% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,225,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,189,828,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,612 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in Elevance Health by 6,817.8% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 908,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $335,254,000 after purchasing an additional 895,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D1 Capital Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $294,751,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

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.