Virtu Financial LLC Buys 530 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Virtu Financial LLC raised its position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,968 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 530 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $2,202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,845,000. Sciencast Management LP acquired a new stake in Elevance Health during the 4th quarter worth $3,043,000. Washington Trust Bank raised its position in shares of Elevance Health by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 29,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,872,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Pecaut & CO. bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 4th quarter worth $258,000. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $485.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens cut shares of Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $519.81.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

ELV opened at $427.27 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. The company has a market capitalization of $97.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $400.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $425.32. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $362.21 and a 1 year high of $567.26.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Insider Activity at Elevance Health

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 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 in the company, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 represents a 19.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.