Evolution Advisers Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Evolution Advisers Inc. reduced its holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 32.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 236 shares of the company’s stock after selling 114 shares during the period. Evolution Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $127,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Canoe Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 158.1% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 844,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,054,000 after purchasing an additional 517,116 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Elevance Health by 114.8% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 31,311 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,765,000 after buying an additional 16,737 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Elevance Health by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 55,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,060,000 after buying an additional 4,362 shares during the period. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC boosted its position in Elevance Health by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Brave Warrior Advisors LLC now owns 1,756,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $828,367,000 after buying an additional 129,055 shares during the period. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its position in Elevance Health by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 14,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,949,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the period. 89.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Gail Boudreaux sold 34,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.98, for a total value of $17,033,320.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,478,674.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert L. Dixon, Jr. sold 305 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $506.76, for a total transaction of $154,561.80. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,926,213.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Gail Boudreaux sold 34,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.98, for a total transaction of $17,033,320.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 126,709 shares in the company, valued at $63,478,674.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,058 shares of company stock valued at $17,588,116 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ELV has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $621.00 to $611.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $615.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $600.00 to $593.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $575.00 to $585.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Elevance Health to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $604.29.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Elevance Health stock traded up $2.66 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $551.09. 456,021 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,019,237. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.49. Elevance Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $431.38 and a fifty-two week high of $555.35. The company has a market capitalization of $128.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $531.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $524.30.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The company reported $10.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.99 by $0.13. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.89% and a return on equity of 20.64%. The business had revenue of $43.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.04 EPS. Elevance Health’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be issued a $1.63 dividend. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.64%.

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.