Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC Sells 190 Shares of Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lowered its stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 16.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 956 shares of the company’s stock after selling 190 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Elevance Health by 309.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 713,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $370,794,000 after acquiring an additional 538,978 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Elevance Health by 16.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,397,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,246,574,000 after purchasing an additional 334,552 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Elevance Health by 6.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,461,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,320,024,000 after buying an additional 286,905 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Elevance Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $129,221,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $88,882,000. Institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Elevance Health

In other news, EVP Charles Morgan Kendrick, Jr. sold 3,504 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,008,970.80. This represents a 25.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Shares of Elevance Health stock opened at $409.46 on Tuesday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a one year low of $362.21 and a one year high of $567.26. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $391.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $432.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.86. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share 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%. Analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.71 dividend. This is a positive change 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 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ELV has been the subject of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Friday, January 24th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating and set a $405.40 price target on shares of Elevance Health in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Stephens lowered shares of Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $520.00 to $440.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Elevance Health from $501.00 to $512.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Elevance Health currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.