Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Stock Position Reduced by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA decreased its stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 37.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 140,306 shares of the company’s stock after selling 83,824 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $51,759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ELV. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Elevance Health by 3.8% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 838 shares of the company’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 10,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,217,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in Elevance Health by 2.7% in the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 1,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,016,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Elevance Health by 0.7% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 38,974 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,267,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFM Health Sciences LP lifted its stake in Elevance Health by 2.2% in the third quarter. PFM Health Sciences LP now owns 56,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,349,000 after acquiring an additional 1,191 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other 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 transaction of $1,388,635.20. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total value of $183,902.59. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $766,745.11. This trade represents a 19.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ELV shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $519.81.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

ELV opened at $431.84 on Friday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 12-month low of $362.21 and a 12-month high of $567.26. The stock has a market cap of $98.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.86, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50 day moving average of $404.45 and a 200-day moving average of $421.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.71%.

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.