Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. Has $1.52 Million Stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV)

Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. lessened its stake in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,113 shares of the company’s stock after selling 434 shares during the quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc.’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $1,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raelipskie Partnership bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Elevance Health by 57.8% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 71 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Financial Perspectives Inc bought a new position in Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Stock Performance

Elevance Health stock opened at $393.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50-day moving average is $387.15 and its 200 day moving average is $440.60. 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 quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $3.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.80 by $0.04. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 18.28%. Research analysts forecast that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 33.96 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is 26.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ELV shares. Stephens cut Elevance Health from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $520.00 to $440.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Elevance Health from $520.00 to $480.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Elevance Health from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $485.00 target price on shares of Elevance Health in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Elevance Health from $483.00 to $478.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average 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.