Advisory Services Network LLC Cuts Holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Advisory Services Network LLC lowered its stake in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 36.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,399 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,379 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $885,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ELV. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 89.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Elevance Health Stock Up 0.3 %

ELV stock opened at $441.02 on Tuesday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $362.21 and a fifty-two week high of $567.26. The company has a market capitalization of $99.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $413.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $411.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.45.

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 return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 3.38%. As a group, analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.71 per share. 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 yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ELV has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stephens cut shares of Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Elevance Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $521.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Elevance Health news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of Elevance Health stock in a transaction 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 owns 10,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,970.80. The trade was a 25.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Ronald W. Penczek sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.13, for a total value of $183,902.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,847 shares in the company, 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 currently owned by 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.