Ascent Group LLC Purchases 1,253 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Ascent Group LLC raised its position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 25.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,156 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $3,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ELV. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 1,711.9% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 53,559 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,858,000 after buying an additional 50,603 shares during the period. Atom Investors LP lifted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 490.6% in the third quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 13,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,848,000 after buying an additional 10,940 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co lifted its stake in shares of Elevance Health by 223.4% in the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 2,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after buying an additional 1,564 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the third quarter valued at about $710,000. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the third quarter valued at about $978,000. 89.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In related news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 7,417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $432.14, for a total transaction of $3,205,182.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,423 shares in the company, valued at $3,639,915.22. This trade represents a 46.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of ELV stock opened at $406.96 on Monday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52-week low of $391.02 and a 52-week high of $567.26. The stock has a market cap of $94.38 billion, a PE ratio of 14.84, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $446.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $504.13.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The company reported $8.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.66 by ($1.29). Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.68% and a return on equity of 19.56%. The business had revenue of $44.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $8.99 earnings per share. Elevance Health’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 32.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is 23.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ELV has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $622.00 to $501.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $478.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $520.00 price target (down previously from $620.00) on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $505.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $605.00 to $555.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $539.20.

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.