United Community Bank Increases Stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

United Community Bank increased its position in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,760 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the quarter. United Community Bank’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $649,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ELV. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Elevance Health by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 272,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,777,000 after acquiring an additional 11,646 shares during the last quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp purchased a new stake in Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter worth about $444,000. TFB Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,206,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 159.6% during the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 1,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $915,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

NYSE:ELV opened at $409.59 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $390.64 and a 200 day moving average of $434.13. The company has a market capitalization of $93.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 1-year low of $362.21 and a 1-year high of $567.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.50.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health’s payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Elevance Health

In other Elevance Health news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $396.30, for a total value of $1,388,635.20. Following the completion of the sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised Elevance Health from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. Stephens lowered Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $520.00 to $440.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Elevance Health presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $517.03.

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.