Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Shares Sold by Sector Gamma AS

Sector Gamma AS decreased its holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 34.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 17,279 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,000 shares during the quarter. Elevance Health makes up 2.2% of Sector Gamma AS’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Sector Gamma AS’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $6,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ELV. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 129,709 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $2,511,814,000 after purchasing an additional 85,770 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its stake in Elevance Health by 1.0% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 4,609,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,396,814,000 after purchasing an additional 44,805 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake 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 worth $2,320,024,000 after purchasing an additional 286,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 47.6% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 3,225,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,189,828,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039,612 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

In related news, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total value of $183,902.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $766,745.11. This trade represents a 19.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

NYSE:ELV opened at $434.44 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $399.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $427.17. The stock has a market cap of $98.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86.

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

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on ELV shares. Stephens cut Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Argus upgraded 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 report on Monday. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price objective on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Elevance Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $519.81.

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.