Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) Shares Sold by Sterling Investment Management LLC

Sterling Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Elevance Health, Inc. (NYSE:ELV) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,948 shares of the company’s stock after selling 92 shares during the period. Elevance Health accounts for about 1.4% of Sterling Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Sterling Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Elevance Health were worth $1,862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. TD Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Elevance Health in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Elevance Health in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.24% of the company’s stock.

Elevance Health Price Performance

Elevance Health stock opened at $519.90 on Thursday. Elevance Health, Inc. has a 52-week low of $412.00 and a 52-week high of $521.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $500.26 and a 200-day moving average of $475.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $5.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.60 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $42.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.19 billion. Elevance Health had a net margin of 3.49% and a return on equity of 20.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Elevance Health, Inc. will post 37.15 EPS for the current year.

Elevance Health Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were paid a $1.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This is an increase from Elevance Health’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. This represents a $6.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Elevance Health’s dividend payout ratio is 25.90%.

Insider Activity

In other Elevance Health news, Director Ramiro G. Peru sold 753 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $376,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,554,500. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ELV shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Elevance Health from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Elevance Health from $547.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Elevance Health in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $584.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Elevance Health from $572.00 to $574.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $569.36.

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.