Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 231,309 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,049 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $85,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter valued at $518,000. Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in Elevance Health by 201.6% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 2,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Elevance Health by 1.8% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Elevance Health by 1.0% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 83,994 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,677,000 after acquiring an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the third quarter valued at about $52,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Trading Down 1.2 %

ELV opened at $430.87 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $398.56 and a 200-day moving average of $427.12. 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 stock has a market cap of $97.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82, 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.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) 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 predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share 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 given a $1.71 dividend. This is a boost 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 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is currently 26.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ELV shares. StockNews.com raised Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Argus upgraded Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $519.81.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In other news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total transaction of $183,902.59. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,745.11. This represents a 19.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at $4,008,970.80. This trade represents a 25.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.