Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crux Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in Elevance Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $698,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 316,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,864,000 after purchasing an additional 17,813 shares during the last quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. lifted its position in Elevance Health by 60.0% during the fourth quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 400 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Trust Co acquired a new position in Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth $544,000. Finally, Argent Trust Co grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 11,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,343,000 after buying an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. 89.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on ELV shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, March 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Elevance Health from $455.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $514.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Elevance Health Price Performance

Elevance Health stock opened at $435.12 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $362.21 and a 52-week high of $567.26. The firm has a market cap of $98.51 billion, a PE ratio of 16.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day moving average is $415.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $412.33.

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

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is an increase 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 1.57%. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is currently 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.