Hickory Asset Management Inc. Invests $1 Million in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Hickory Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 2,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lifeworks Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Elevance Health by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 1,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 2.9% during the third quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Fullcircle Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 1.5% during the third quarter. Fullcircle Wealth LLC now owns 1,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $906,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 57.8% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 71 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Elevance Health by 5.6% during the third quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ELV. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $643.00 to $551.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $585.00 to $478.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Stephens lowered shares of Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $517.03.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of ELV stock opened at $389.58 on Friday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52-week low of $362.21 and a 52-week high of $567.26. The stock has a market cap of $90.35 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 1.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $384.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $450.29.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 18.28%. As a group, analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 34.05 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. This represents a $6.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. This is a boost from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.71%.

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.